GOP Donor Doesn’t Know What DeSantis is Doing

(DailyVantage.com) – Ken Griffin, billionaire and CEO of Citadel, once gave $5 million to the political action committee that supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last year during his campaign to be reelected. Back in November, Griffin indicated that he would be backing DeSantis in his 2024 presidential campaign as well. Griffin has now told CNBC that he currently has no plans to back DeSantis or any other GOP presidential primary candidates.

Griffin appears to have lost faith in DeSantis as far as his presidential campaign, claiming he can’t determine which voter base DeSantis is trying to appeal to and doesn’t understand his strategy. Zia Ahmed, spokesperson for Citadel, confirmed these remarks when speaking with the New York Times, but also emphasized that Mr. Griffin never indicated who he was “supporting or not supporting” in the 2024 presidential election.

Once deemed a strong candidate, DeSantis has lost ground in recent months. According to a Washington Post poll, he has lost the support of 7% of Republican caucus and primary voters, leaving him with the support of 14%. Walter Buckley Jr. chose to donate to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Bruce Rauner, former governor of Illinois, is now backing Nikki Haley.

More recently, the Republican Party in Florida has voted to not require presidential primary candidates to support the eventual nominee. This would allow Trump to appear on the ballot in Florida without signing a state-level oath.

DeSantis is struggling, even though he has taken a hard stance on issues such as denouncing transgender rights, excluding critical race theory from public schools, immigration, and the six-week abortion ban introduced in Florida, all of which move the Republican Party.

Griffin told CNBC that his dream would be to see a younger Republican candidate in the primary election with a different “tone” for America, as well as someone younger on the Democratic side. Both have fresh ideas and are willing to debate in a way that would “make this a great nation”.