DeSantis Speech Sets NHGOP Fundraising Record

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

When likely GOP presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) walks on stage at the Amos Tuck dinner Friday night, he will be headlining the most successful state Republican Party fundraiser in history.

“Record-breaking fundraiser for the state party,” NHGOP Chairman Chris Ager told NHJournal Friday morning. “Largest fundraiser in the history of the NHGOP, raising more than a quarter of a million dollars. Ticket sales were halted earlier this week after we exceeded planned capacity.”

Some national media outlets had previously reported that the DeSantis event wasn’t generating excitement or ticket sales. A report from “Puck’s” Tara Palmeri said ticket sales for the event have been slow.

Palmeri wrote sources told her, “The New Hampshire GOP is still struggling to sell tickets, at every level up from entry-level tickets to $5,000 dinner sponsorships… With only one week to go, organizers are apparently underwhelmed by the interest in an event they’d hoped would sell out.”

And Granite State Fox News viewers were greeted Friday morning with a new TV ad mocking DeSantis over reports he allegedly ate a pudding pack using his fingers. The ad hits DeSantis for votes to reform entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.

“And somebody get this guy a spoon!,” the ad concludes.

According to sources in both New Hampshire and elsewhere, those stories were coming from allies of the Trump campaign, who’ve been working the press hard with stories of DeSantis’ alleged shortcomings on the campaign trail.

Ager says the original target was 500 seats sold and ticket sales exceeded that number. And unlike some previous events where tickets were made available to some activist groups for free, these are $150 tickets — a financial boon for the historically cash-strapped state party organization.

The 100 VIP tickets, at $500 a pop, are a sell out as well.

“There’s high anticipation from our activist base to hear directly from the governor. And we were very pleased that he accepted our invitation,” Ager told the Washington Examiner.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.