Jimmy Patronis Advises Newsmax: Do Not Underestimate DeSantis

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis told Newsmax on Friday that it’s not “wise to underestimate” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he runs for the Republican presidential nomination.

When asked if DeSantis’ presidential campaign is having trouble attracting donors, Patronis told “Newsline” that “I don’t think it’s wise to underestimate Ron DeSantis, [in his first gubernatorial election] he won by less than 37,000 votes; when he ran [for] reelection in Florida he won by over 20%, [the] largest margin in the history of the state.”

Patronis also criticized additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service, saying that “the Biden administration’s put $80 billion of expanded investment IRF [Industrial Revitalization Fund] … I travel all over the state every single week, no one is asking, ‘Can we please bolster the IRS.'”

The Florida official was also asked about Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who recently told Newsmax that he is considering a run for governor in the future.

“I love Byron, but you know what? I think it’s better spent time in Washington. He doubled down, he supported [House Speaker] Kevin McCarthy [R-Calif.], he needs to continue to march the march and continue to try to do what he said he was going to do for the voters of southwest Florida and fix Washington.”

He added, “Bringing broken policies from Washington back to Florida is nothing any of us in Florida want. We’ve done a good job, we don’t need Washington poisoning what we’ve accomplished.”

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