A veteran group of Florida Democratic politicos has formed "Ron Be Gone," a 527 political organization promising to support whoever becomes the party's nominee in 2022 against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Using the 527 structure means Ron Be Gone can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money against DeSantis in his reelection bid, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. But the group is also focused on thwarting DeSantis' aspirations for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
"A bonus, if they contribute to defeating DeSantis, would be imploding his prospects as a 2024 Republican presidential candidate," the Sun-Sentinel reported. "Even the name, which sounds like a pest removal product, shows the depth of Democratic animosity toward the Republican governor."
The group will emphasize DeSantis' mishandling of the pandemic, which has produced the laxest regulations of any state in the nation, including never having had a mask mandate.
"Ron DeSantis's failure to protect Floridians during this pandemic will go down as one of the greatest catastrophes in Florida history," said former Congresswoman DebbieMucarsel-Powell. "I'm glad to be a part of this effort, because the stakes couldn't be higher for Floridians. While DeSantis is ignoring scientists, he's focused on helping his wealthy donors skip the line for COVID vaccines in exchange for campaign contributions. We will fight for those that DeSantis has left behind, our most vulnerable communities, everyday Floridians who are struggling during this health and economic crisis."
Mucarsel-Powell is joined in Ron Be Gone by Coral Springs Vice Mayor Josh Simmons, former State Rep. Cindy Polo, and veteran Florida political strategists Brice Barnes, Joshua Karp, and Lindsay Pollard.
The Sun-Sentinel did note that, "Ron Be Gone doesn't have the field to itself. A group called Remove Ron has been formed by Daniel Uhlfelder and has been raising money for its own effort. Uhlfelder, a lawyer from the Panhandle, received lots of media attention last year for traveling the state dressed as the Grim Reaper to draw attention to his criticisms of DeSantis' handling of the coronavirus pandemic."
Ron Be Gone will emphasize grassroots donors online, the paper reports.
"Both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden tapped into online fundraising to raise mountains of campaign cash. And the model was successfully used by super PACS like American Bridge, Priorities USA and the Lincoln Project as part of their campaigns against Trump.
"The approach also reflects a reality confronting Democrats in Florida. After Trump won Florida by 3.3 percentage points in 2020, performing significantly better than he did in 2016, and after Democrats have lost 16 of 19 statewide elections since 2008, big-money national party donors may have less of an appetite for spending their money on Florida political campaigns."
Floridapolitics.com reports, "The group is signaling its arrival with launch of a video that seeks to tie DeSantis to former President Donald Trump, whom the narrator calls "his role model." The minute-plus video mixes humor and angst, characterizing DeSantis as Trump's follower and charging that, like Trump, he holds blame for how bad the coronavirus crisis became.
Here's the initial Ron Be Gone video:
