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DeSantis’s New Donor Defiance

The governor’s allies are brushing off major donors who worry his six-week abortion ban and anything-goes gun laws would be political kryptonite in a general election. Other Florida insiders fear he could lose the state, too.

It appears Ron DeSantis isn’t stopping at abortion as he seeks to remake Florida as the state where “woke goes to die.”
It appears Ron DeSantis isn’t stopping at abortion as he seeks to remake Florida as the state where “woke goes to die.” Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP
Tara Palmeri
April 17, 2023

I know I’m not the only reporter whose phone has been burning up with incoming calls from major Republican donors who are mortified that Ron DeSantis actually signed a ban on abortion after six weeks, which is well before the point most women even know they’re pregnant. Since DeSantis signed the legislation, some five days ago, Florida billionaire Tom Peterffy said aloud, in conversation with the Financial Times, a version of a line I’ve been hearing for weeks: “Myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry.” Another major donor suggested that Peterffy was sending a message to his fellow mega donors: I don’t like this, and we need to win, so we may need to move on. Sorry, Ronny.