Ron DeSantis finance committees have a Florida feel

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd as he attends an event Friday, March 10, 2023, in Davenport, Iowa. (AP Photo/Ron Johnson)

With just over a month from the Iowa caucuses that may determine the future of his campaign, Gov. Ron DeSantis is rolling out national finance advisory boards and committees.

And as befits the Governor of Florida, friends from across the Sunshine State are prominently placed on both, including Capital City Consulting Co-Founder Nick Iarossi.

“I am thrilled to help lead Ron DeSantis’ National Finance Committee as we continue to work tirelessly to elect him the next President,” said Finance Advisory Board Co-Chairman Nick Iarossi.

“Ron DeSantis is a proven leader and the only candidate in this race capable of winning big for Republicans, serving two terms, and implementing the conservative policies we need to reverse our nation’s decline. The fundraising apparatus the campaign has built in the last few months has been historic, and we are excited to take it to the next level in the weeks and months ahead,” Iarossi added.

Iarossi, an ally of DeSantis since his 2018 Primary campaign for Governor, has offered valuable advice along the way, including advising the Governor to make his military service part of this campaign narrative. As DeSantis has become comfortable noting, he’s the only military veteran in the race.

Other prominent Florida names on the National Finance Advisory Board include Gay Gaines of Palm Beach, Mori Hosseini of Daytona Beach, Mike Corcoran of Odessa, and Slater Bayliss and David Browning of Tallahassee.

The National Finance Committee has even more prominent players from Florida, meanwhile, with a blend of politicos and behind-the-scenes operators, along with people who have known DeSantis before he entered politics.

Jacksonville’s Daniel Bean is an example of the latter. Bean, who was DeSantis’ former commanding officer in the Navy, has cut multiple ads endorsing him in various campaigns, including this run for the White House.

Former Senate President Bill Galvano, former Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, and former House Speaker Will Weatherford represent those one-time elected officials who are now lending their talents to the Governor’s finance committee, meanwhile.

Meanwhile, some former DeSantis appointees also made the committee cut, including Ballard Partners’ Courtney Coppola (DeSantis’ former Chief of Staff) and Dane Eagle (erstwhile Secretary of the Department of Economic Opportunity),

Other members of the finance committee from Florida include Brady Benford; Ron Bergeron; Robert Bishop; David Blumberg; Jim Bowen; Norman Braman; Steve Brodie; Daryl Carter; John Childs; Bill Cleary; Richard Cole; Courtney Coppola; Hugh Culverhouse; Eddie DeBartolo; Amy Derick; Aubrey Edge; Barbara Feingold; Joe Fogg; Tom Frederick; Glen Ged; Carson Good; Gabe Groisman; John Hamlin; Jeff Hartley; George Heisel; Lin Henkel; Jim Holton; Reuben Jeffery; Charlie Johnson; David Kim; Gary Lester; Kelly Mahoney; Craig Mateer; Patrick McDowell; Nancy McGowan; Drew Meiner; Camilo Miguel; Cecil Milton; Abdol Moabery; Patrick Neal; Joe O’Brien; Sidd Pagdipati; Chuck Perdue; Nestor Plana; Moshe and Yaffa Popack; Phil Pulley; John Rood; Jared Rosenstein; Bobby Sanchez; Brent Sembler; Thomas Smith; Jeff Soffer; Sandy Stilwell Youngquist; Dan Vallencourt; Chris Vincze; Rich Waltzer; Rick Workman; and Patrick Zalupski.