‘Remove Ron’ rakes in $53K in February to unseat Gov. DeSantis

A political committee founded by a faux Grim Reaper to cut short Gov. Ron DeSantis’ political tenure posted interesting fundraising numbers in February. Remove Ron announced it pulled in more than $53,000 during its first month of operations.

“When we announced the formation of ‘Remove Ron’ last month, I predicted that we would lead a movement to defeat Ron DeSantis, reverse his dangerous policies and put Florida back on track,” said Remove Ron Chairman Daniel Uhlfelder. “The response to our call has been incredible. It is a testament to the energy and resolve of millions of Floridians to restore competent, honorable leadership in the Governor’s office.”

Uhlfelder gained notoriety in the state initially over a high-profile beach access court battle with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. He garnered more attention through a series of publicity stunts dressing as the Grim Reaper and wandering Florida beaches during the pandemic while pressing for DeSantis to close beaches to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

DeSantis never did that, and Uhlfelder in February announced the launch of Remove Ron, a state committee dedicated to holding DeSantis “accountable for his failures as Governor of Florida.”

“We have a simple message for Ron DeSantis: We are building a durable, strategic, aggressive, political movement that will be led by some of the smartest political minds in our state and powered by the people,” Uhlfelder said. “The stakes in 2022 couldn’t be higher and we plan on being a dominant player in this election.”

Uhlfelder said the political committee logged 2,427 donations in February, with each donor giving an average of $21.96.

Full contribution and expense reports are not yet available through the the Division of Elections. Notably the committee between Jan. 9 and Jan. 31, before the public launch, reported $50,101, the vast majority of that a $50,000 check from Uhlfelder to start up the effort.