The Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis-affiliated super political action committee Monday night released its finances for the first time, shedding light on several Florida mega-donors.
The super PAC Never Back Down received nearly $100 million in aid toward the governor’s presidential campaign. The list reveals a small number of donors located in Florida, with several of those in Orlando.
The filings show that from February through June, the PAC has received $96.8 million from 171 donors. Approximately $872,800 of the total came from 10 Orlando-area donors.
The two largest contributions were tied to a single limited liability company, United Again LLC, which does not appear to be licensed through the Florida Division of Corporations. One, $250,000, was directly from United Again LLC. The second, also for $250,000, was from a man named Michael Repole, who used the same Orlando address and identified himself as a partner in the LLC. Repole is also the co-founder of sports drink BodyArmor and Glaceau, maker of sports drinks Vitaminwater and Smartwater.
Other notable contributions came from the Orlando Magic, which gave $50,000. An additional $10,000 came from Full Sail University CEO James Heavener.
Management consulting corporation Avanti Capital Partners LLC donated $100,000. Windermere-based Dr. Ralph Korpman, MD, contributed $10,000. Florida law firm Gray Robinson contributed $5,000.
The record of contributions comes amid a downward spiral in the DeSantis campaign, as he has failed to climb in the polls or even recover from a recent series of missteps. The presidential hopeful recently launched an attack ad criticizing Trump for being too supportive of LGBTQ+ rights. He shared a separate video, created by a staffer who has since been fired, that contained a Nazi symbol.
He’s since defended the videos, saying sharing them was a “rapid response thing.”
DeSantis is receiving backlash from political leaders following Florida’s approval of new Black history standards in schools that say slaves benefited from slavery. He has defended the curriculum, saying in a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris he’d expect the White House to “applaud such boldness in teaching the unique and important story of African American History.”
Other recent awkward comeback efforts include hosting a beer drinking event in New Hampshire, which saw just over two dozen attendees.
“The media will continue their obsession with endless clickbait stories that do nothing to inform voters, and Ron DeSantis will keep sharing his plans to declare Americans’ economic independence and restore sanity in our country as the next president,” campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo said, NBC reports.
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