PAC report: December saw DeSantis committee’s strongest fundraising haul of 2019

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political committee closed 2019 by collecting more than $1.2 million, including two gifts of $100,000, according to data compiled by the Florida Division of Elections.

Those big contributions came from Rahul Patel, a corporate transactions and finance partner with King & Spalding’s Atlanta office, and Anita Zucker, a billionaire philanthropist who lives in Charleston, S.C. Patel gave an additional contribution of $5,000.

The Friends of Ron DeSantis committee collected four gifts of $50,000, from the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association; UnitedHealth Group; James Heavener, CEO of Full Sail University; and Roy Hinman II, a doctor who runs a chain of medical offices.

The PAC collected 16 gifts of $25,000 from donors including Charter Communications; ICI Homes, run by prominent Republican Mori Hosseni; Caremark RX Inc.; RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., the Florida CPA PAC; the Jacksonville Kennel Club; and Duke Energy Florida.

The report covers donations made during December. The exact total was $1,248,755.08, representing the committee’s strongest fundraising month in 2019.

Florida Consumers First, a committee benefiting Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, collected $89,194.20 during December, mostly in amounts of $100 or less. The PAC’s largest contributor was $20,000 from Mark P.C., the political committee run by Tallahassee ethics and elections attorney Mark Herron. A. Duda & Sons, the big agriculture and development company headquartered in Oviedo, gave $15,000 and the Gulfstream Park Racing Association gave $10,000.

Treasure Florida, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ committee, collected $62,000, including one gift of $50,000 from the Voice of Florida Business Political Action Committee, chaired by former GOP Florida House Speaker and congressman Tom Feeney.

Friends of Ashley Moody, supporting Florida’s attorney general, collected two checks worth $5,000 each from FTBA Transportation PAC, financed by road builders, and Regions Bank.