Republican
Florida
Governor
Ron
DeSantis
celebrates
onstage
during
his
2022
U.S.
midterm
elections
night
party
in
Tampa,
Florida,
November
8,
2022.
Marco
Bello
|
Reuters
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis
has
assembled
a
team
of
wealthy
business
leaders
to
help
raise
money
for
his
presidential
campaign,
according
to
a
partial
list
of
fundraisers
provided
by
a
senior
political
official
with
the
Florida
Republican.
The
bundler
list,
which
was
first
provided
to
CNBC,
includes
business
leaders
from
industries
ranging
from
real
estate
to
finance.
DeSantis
is
set
to
announce
his
run
for
president
Wednesday
evening
during
a
Twitter
discussion
with
the
social
media
platform’s
owner
and
Tesla
CEO
Elon
Musk.
Bundlers
will
gather
at
the
Four
Seasons
hotel
in
Miami
from
Wednesday
through
Friday.
They’ll
receive
briefings
from
campaign
staff
and
call
around
to
raise
money
for
the
campaign,
NBC
News
reported.
DeSantis
is
considered
Donald
Trump’s
biggest
rival
in
the
GOP
primary,
although
the
former
president
has
held
a
healthy
lead
in
recent
polls.
The
DeSantis
campaign’s
bundler
list
includes
David
Horowitz,
the
chairman
of
the
Horowitz
Group,
a
family
office
and
real
estate
investment
firm
based
in
California.
Horowitz
did
not
return
a
request
for
comment.
Horowitz
has
previously
donated
$25,000
to
the
pro-DeSantis
PAC
Friends
of
Ron
DeSantis,
which
was
rebranded
with
new
leadership
as
the
Florida
governor
moved
to
launch
his
bid
for
the
White
House.
During
the
2020
election,
Horowitz
contributed
just
over
$35,000
to
the
Republican
National
Committee
and
at
least
$2,800
to
Trump’s
failed
campaign,
according
to
data
from
nonpartisan
site
OpenSecrets.
Hal
Lambert,
the
founder
of
investment
management
firm
Point
Bridge
Capital,
is
also
on
the
list.
Lambert’s
firm
created
the
MAGA
ETF,
an
exchange
traded
fund
that’s
advertised
as
a
way
for
people
to
invest
in
companies
that
align
with
Republican
political
beliefs.
Lambert
served
on
Trump’s
Inaugural
Committee
and
was
a
national
finance
chair
for
Trump’s
successful
2016
campaign
for
president,
according
to
his
website.
“I
certainly
think
north
of
$500k
of
hard
dollars
is
very
possible
for
me,”
Lambert
said
in
an
email
when
asked
how
much
he
is
aiming
to
raise
for
DeSantis.
“I
want
to
win
in
November
and
I
don’t
think
Trump
will
win.
If
you
look
at
the
map,
the
states
we
need,
he
is
losing
or
has
lost
previously,”
he
later
added.
Records
show
that
Lambert
has
also
donated
to
the
Friends
of
Ron
DeSantis
PAC
and
Trump’s
campaign.
Jay
Zeidman,
a
managing
partner
at
health
care
investment
firm
Altitude
Ventures,
is
also
listed
as
a
DeSantis
campaign
fundraiser.
Zeidman
did
not
return
a
request
for
comment.
Zeidman
previously
donated
to
former
Florida
Gov.
Jeb
Bush’s
failed
campaign
for
president,
according
to
OpenSecrets.
The
New
York
Times
reports
that
Zeidman
is
friends
with
Bush’s
son,
George
P.
Bush.
Frank
Mermoud,
the
president
of
Orpheus
International,
is
also
a
member
of
the
DeSantis
bundler
team,
according
to
the
list
provided
to
CNBC.
Records
show
that
he,
too,
was
a
supporter
of
Bush’s
failed
primary
run
for
president
in
2016.
Mermoud
could
not
be
reached
for
comment.
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