He estimated $150 million for a typical campaign. Trump’s 2016 campaign was notorious for being run cheaply, and he spent nearly $400 million.
By 2016, the usual cost of a campaign was three quarters of a billion dollars. By 2020, Biden surpassed a billion. There’s no reason to expect them to get cheaper.
So Ronnie needs money. At least half a billion dollars. And that’s if he’s generating free (positive) publicity from media coverage.
I still think was was correct about the trend, but I see I was misleading on the absolute numbers. I wish I had used the word millionaire rather than billionaire.
Does not follow.
Just because they can raise money doesn’t prove they got more votes from it.
Hate to be cynical, but campaign consultants get paid more to be in a well-funded campaign. So they have a big incentive to push the candidates to raise a lot of money.
I admit that street money is important in local races, at least in Philadelphia. But not so much for the presidential.
Something almost no one here would have guessed:
That’s most likely based primarily on info from last year. Let’s see how it ranks next year.
Perhaps he has observed Trump’s constant litigation, and discovered that someone with good lawyers on retainer faces surprisingly few consequences, all things considered, while reaping publicity that more than compensates for the financial consequences. In other words, cheap advertising.
Not informed speculation, but something I wonder about.
Also: does it show my age that every time someone sneeringly says “Ronnie” in a political context, I think Reagan?
Well said. If the way campaigns worked was that every candidate had to raise all the money 2 years before the election date then could only spend what they had already raised the situation would be easier to follow.
Because fundraising and campaigning occur at the same time and affect each other, there’s a strong feedback loop. The campaign pulling in money can do more e.g. advertising, and the one pulling in little does less. Which affects voting or polling, with in turn affects donor interest, etc. Success attracts success and failure attracts … crickets.
Once a candidate knows they’re a no-hoper, they face a decision. Subject to some arcane limitations, the money already collected can’t be kept; it either needs to be returned or spent on campaigning. (Or stolen / diverted, but that’s a side issue I’ll skip over).
From the candidate’s POV, continuing to advertise, go through the motions, etc. is all about keeping their brand alive and positioning for next time. And for the paid political consultants running the campaign, it’s all about continued employment. So everyone involved has a motivation to keep playing to the last dollar, no matter how futile that is in the latter stages.
If so, it shows mine too. As a Floridian, there are many names I might use for DeSantis. But “Ronnie” is totally not one of them. I find it very distracting every time I see it. “Who’s that?” is the first & main thought running through my head.
Perhaps, but I think the same thing. 
It’s not clear that the hats were some type of official campaign merch, since there is not an official campaign yet. Also, I did not see any proof that they were produced on DeSantis’s dime, but I did not look beyond the linked article.
Now DeSantis’s pet legislature has passed and he has signed a bill that lets his board void any deals that were made with Disney. 
I hope Floridians take note of how he’s really getting things done to help make their lives easier.
Here’s a sample of Ron’s 2018 debate prep with noted political guru Matt Gaetz.
Seem like Presidential material? Not to me.
Political GOD and fellow puppet-head, to be precise!
It’s embarrassing for this to have gotten out, but in the brief clips shown in the news story, he doesn’t look that bad. I think the recent clip from Japan linked to above looks much worse. And I think the only reason that he doesn’t look worse is that he isn’t under the lights and under pressure in the clips. I think that’s when he’s really weak.
DeSantis didn’t help himself by endorsing Kelly Craft a day before the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primary, only to see her get stomped by Trump’s pick, Daniel Cameron.
LOL, that’s like a double self-own: show you’re a fool by endorsing a total nut in another state (in an election that isn’t really relevant to yourself), and then have King Nut’s pick beat your own nut.
Idiot.
Really… how did he expect that to end well? (I find myself asking that a lot…)
About DeSantis in particular or Republican maroons in general?
These days it seems to apply to a broad swath of people…
Planning ahead is hard for folks ruled by emotion, ego, or mental illness.
GOP mayoral candidate in Jacksonville, who was endorsed by DeSantis, lost to his Democratic challenger, who will be the city’s first woman mayor.
The Pub was Daniel Davis; the new mayor’s name is Donna Deegan. Somewhere there’s a great alliterative headline. Best one I could come up with:
Democrat Donna Deegan defeats DeSantis Dude Daniel Davis
Donna Destroys Daniel; DeSantis’ Davis Drowns, Deegan Drives Dem’s Desires. D’oh!