DeSantis headlines record-breaking Alabama GOP dinner

The Alabama Republican Party broke its fundraising record when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) headlined its annual winter dinner last week, as the rising conservative weighs a White House bid.

DeSantis’s appearance at the event helped the party raise nearly $700,000 and break attendance records with more than 1,700 at the dinner.

The previous attendance record was set when then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) visited in the summer of 2011.

Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said it was good for DeSantis “to get to know Alabama a little better.”

“And also for our state to meet one of America’s strongest conservative leaders, and someone that I think is going to be a central figure within the Republican Party for years to come,” Wahl said in a statement.

The party said that during his visit DeSantis focused on education and “common sense conservative values.”

DeSantis is making some of his first out-of-state trips to promote his new book. He made his first appearance in Iowa over the weekend and laughed off the idea that his visit to Iowa was the start of a presidential campaign. 

DeSantis is set to headline a fundraising dinner for the New Hampshire Republican Party next month, another appearance in a state with an early presidential nominating contest.