Travel costs, staff and ads added up before Ron DeSantis dropped out

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign spent more of its funds on travel and staff than on ads in 2023, according to a new fundraising report detailing the financial stress on his campaign in its final days.

The campaign spent $3.3 million on “media placement,” which refers to money spent to place ads on the airwaves, over the course of 2023, filings show. But it also spent $2.8 million on travel and another $2.8 million on payroll in 2023, according to figures in his latest fundraising report combined with his campaign’s previously reported spending.

The travel included significant spending on private air travel, the campaign finance records show, while the payroll costs supported a staff headcount that grew quickly and then was cut dramatically within months of the campaign’s launch.

The DeSantis campaign’s spending underscores how his team left much of the fight on the airwaves to outside groups. Major pro-DeSantis groups, including the super PAC Never Back Down, spent tens of millions on ads supporting his bid. But it has not yet filed its latest fundraising report.

DeSantis also struggled to grow his donor base, ending the year with a campaign account full of money that he could not use for the primary. 

The new fundraising report, filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, showed DeSantis’ campaign had $9.7 million in its account as of the end of December, less than one month before he dropped out of the race following a second-place showing in the Iowa caucuses. 

But much of that money appeared to be only usable in a general election. In 2023, DeSantis’ campaign reported raising $9.1 million in general election funds, which he could not spend on the primary, according to the totals in the year-end filing.  

DeSantis’ campaign did ramp up its spending compared to the previous quarter, spending $9.3 million from October through December, including $2 million on ad placement, $866,000 on staff and $659,000 on travel, per a report filed 

The report showed 55 staffers on the campaign’s payroll, with little change in staffing levels after the campaign made deep staffing cuts in July. 

Most of the travel spending went to three business travel companies: TMFB Management Services and Workman Transportation, which are based in Florida, and Corporate Traveler, which is based in New Jersey. Craig Mateer, who owns TMFB Management, has been a major contributor to DeSantis’ Florida campaigns and also donated to DeSantis’ presidential campaign.