Republican megadonor Thomas Peterffy says he is suspending donations to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ahead of his potential 2024 presidential campaign.
“I’ve been holding back,” the billionaire founder of Interactive Brokers Group Inc., told the Financial Times in an article published Saturday.
“Because of his stance on abortion and book bans . . . I, and many of my friends, are holding dry powder,” explained Peterffy.
DeSantis, a possible challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, “seems to have lost momentum,” Peterffy added.
In November 2022, Peterffy was one of five members of the Republican Party who defected to Trump after the GOP’s poor showing in that month’s midterm elections, largely attributed to Trump’s endorsement of a candidate who denied the 2020 election fraud.
“I think we need a fresh face,” Petterfy told Bloomberg at the time. “The problem with Trump is that he has so many negatives, he can’t be elected, period.”