Ron DeSantis Trails Behind Donald Trump In Small Dollar Donations, Hinting At Grassroots Support Gap

In the race for the 2024 Republican primary, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trails significantly behind former President Donald Trump in small-dollar donations, a key indicator of grassroots support, Axios reports.

Small-Dollar Donations – A Crucial Metric: Small-dollar donations, those under $200, are a vital measure of a candidate’s grassroots backing. Data from the Federal Election Commission (F.E.C) reveals that 82% of Trump’s total individual contributions since the start of the year, amounting to over $44 million, came from small-dollar donors.

In contrast, DeSantis has only managed to garner 17% from this segment.

DeSantis’ communications director, Andrew Romeo, expressed gratitude for their grassroots supporters, stating, "Our campaign is grateful for the tens of thousands of grassroots supporters who have made it possible for us to build an unmatched organization in the early nominating states with the ability to compete for the long haul.”

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Democrats and Small-Dollar Donations: Historically, Democrats have relied more heavily on small-dollar donations than Republicans. President Joe Biden‘s re-election campaign raised approximately $10 million from donors giving less than $200 during the second quarter, three times the amount raised by DeSantis but only a quarter of Trump’s small-dollar haul.

Looking Ahead: The Republican National Committee has introduced new thresholds to qualify for presidential debates to encourage grassroots fundraising operations across the party. All candidates must now have at least 40,000 individual donors to qualify for the debate on Aug. 23.

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