Even before winning a second term as governor, Florida’s Ron DeSantis became a favorite of Republican donors. By some metrics, DeSantis was outraising even former President Donald Trump at one point.

However, the Florida governor’s presidential campaign has become strapped for cash, and he’s ceded his spot to another candidate with a booming campaign: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Haley’s campaign will presumably release a new trove financial records by the Oct. 15 deadline, and it’s already shared the records with The New York Times, which publicized certain figures on Monday.

The Haley campaign has counted 100,000 unique donors in total, including 40,000 new donors in the third quarter of this year. The campaign also claims to have saved roughly half of all the money donated between July 1 and Sept. 30.

Since reviewing the records, the Times has reported —

Ms. Haley, who, according to her campaign, has raised $11 million across her political committees, entered October with significantly more cash on hand that can be spent on the 2024 primary than Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida — $9.1 million to roughly his $5 million — even as he out-raised her overall.

But both Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis’s fund-raising figures were dwarfed by the man they are chasing in the polls: Former President Donald J. Trump announced in recent days that he had raised $45.5 million in the quarter and had $36 million on hand that is eligible to be spent on the primary.

Haley, a businessperson-turned-politician, is planning to invest this money by hiring more staffers in Iowa, the Des Moines Register reported Monday.

Over the summer, DeSantis hit his campaign with a round of layoffs, in an apparent attempt to save money.

Now, Haley is set to meet with Republican donors in Texas this week, and she’s reportedly planning on pointing to DeSantis’ declining fortunes, compared to her own upward trend in fundraising.

It’s been claimed that GOP’s presidential debates are just contests for vice president, since Trump is polling far ahead of everyone else. Now, Haley is in second place in some polls… and she’s already worked in the Trump administration during his presidency.

 

August flashback! DeSantis replaces his campaign manager as he resets his faltering campaign

 

The Horn editorial team