Billionaire donor Ken Griffin sticking with DeSantis for 2024: report

Billionaire donor Ken Griffin is standing by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for president in 2024 despite some other major donors backing away from the rumored presidential candidate, Semafor reported Tuesday. 

A person close to Griffin told the outlet that the founder of the financial services company Citadel does not agree with DeSantis on all issues but still believes he would be a strong candidate for president. 

The report comes as some other major GOP donors have backed off from DeSantis over his administration’s social policies in Florida. 

Thomas Peterffy, a billionaire and major Republican donor, told The Financial Times that “because of his stance on abortion and book banning … myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry.” 

DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban into law last week. The bill would allow for exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape, incest or human trafficking and for mothers whose lives are at risk up to 15 weeks. 

The Florida governor has also signed multiple pieces of legislation concerning the curriculum in state schools, including one that requires materials to be age appropriate for children and allows parents to raise objections to books being taught. 

NBC reported last month that a person familiar with the spending strategy of conservative billionaire Richard Uihlein, who previously backed DeSantis, said “the brakes are being pumped” as “the polling really made different people pause.” 

Polls at one point months ago appeared to show DeSantis closing the gap with former President Trump for the lead in hypothetical Republican primaries, but Trump has maintained a significant advantage in polling recently. 

Semafor also reported that Griffin donated $75 million to Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections, making him the third-largest donor during those elections. He also donated millions of dollars to DeSantis’ reelection campaign.