Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and other potential top contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination are ramping up fundraising efforts.
Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley so far are the only candidates formally to announce their participation in the primaries, but others are expected to follow.
Trump is planning to host a fundraising dinner for some of his top donors at his Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday, Politico reported. It will be his first fundraiser of the 2024 cycle.
The event will be geared toward raising money for his MAGA Inc. super PAC, which was first created late last year before the midterm elections to help several of Trump-endorsed candidates.
The PAC now is focused on reelecting Trump to the White House. According to recent filings, MAGA Inc. has received large contributions from several longtime Trump donors, including transportation company executive Timothy Mellon, banker Andy Beal, and sanitation mogul Anthony Lomangino.
Those involved in the planning for this week's fundraising events describe the donor recruitment fight as intense, Politico reported. That's because many Republican contributors would like to move on from Trump and are other considering backing other potential contenders.
Haley is among a group of other likely candidates expected to attend a donor conference, hosted by former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove, in Austin, Texas, on Friday.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also are expected to appear at the conference, where attendees are to include beer distribution executive John Nau, Omni Hotels owner Robert Rowling, and real estate developer Harlan Crow.
"I think they're like a lot of people," Rove told Politico, referring to the donors. "They might have someone who's sort of a preliminary favorite, but they're looking, and they want to see how they will perform."
DeSantis is set to hold a three-day fundraising retreat at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, Florida, beginning Friday.
DeSantis is expected to address several donors and other supporters to tout his reelection performance in 2022, as well as key parts of his agenda, such as the ongoing fight with Disney, his decision to send planes of migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and his battle against "woke" liberals, according to Politico.
DeSantis also is expected to meet with several donors who once backed Trump. They include Arizona donor Don Tapia, a retired electrical company executive who served as Trump's ambassador to Jamaica.
Tapia, a six-figure contributor to Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns, has decided to back DeSantis should he run in 2024.
"The name-calling has turned a lot of people off," Tapia said of Trump, Politico reported. "Let me tell you, we don't like that."
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