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Ron DeSantis<\/strong>\u2019s largest individual donor, hotelier and real estate tycoon Robert Bigelow<\/strong>, is, at least for the time being, closing his coffers. He announced that he is no longer donating to the Florida governor\u2019s floundering campaign, citing the candidate\u2019s \u201cextremism\u201d on abortion<\/a>. Bigelow\u2019s about-face, which he revealed in an interview<\/a> with Reuters Friday, is the latest sign of big-money skittishness<\/a> around DeSantis, once the darling of conservative donors.<\/p>\n Bigelow, who once said<\/a> he\u2019d \u201cgo without food\u201d to push a DeSantis presidential bid, donated $20 million in March to Never Back Down, a super PAC supporting the Florida governor. That sum is ten times higher than the $2 million donated by the PAC\u2019s second-biggest donor, venture capitalist Douglas Leone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But Bigelow\u2019s donation was made a month before DeSantis signed<\/a> a bill banning abortion after six weeks, a move Bigelow cited as his reason for withholding more money. “He does need to shift to get to moderates. He’ll lose if he doesn’t,\u201d the Las Vegas-based businessman said. \u201cExtremism isn’t going to get you elected.\u201d (Bigelow said he still believes DeSantis is \u201cthe best guy for the country\u201d and that the Florida governor was \u201cspot on\u201d in his attacks on \u201cwokeism\u201d.)<\/p>\n Bigelow said he\u2019d communicated his concerns to the campaign, and that he\u2019d specifically told DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck<\/strong> that the candidate needed to moderate his stance. He added that Peck, whom Bigelow described as a \u201cvery good campaign manager,\u201d reacted with \u201ca long period of silence where I thought maybe she had passed out.\u201d<\/p>\n Bigelow\u2019s donation was included in Never Back Down\u2019s first official filing, made public last week. The documents showed that the super PAC had nearly $100 million on hand at the end of June, putting DeSantis\u2019s war chest far above the rest of the Republican primary field. That astronomical number contrasts with the official DeSantis campaign\u2019s lackluster financial situation, which has forced it to shed staffers<\/a> to remain financially solvent going into the fall. Some of those staffers are expected<\/a> to move to Never Back Down.<\/p>\n As its coffers grew, the PAC started taking over tasks that are traditionally handled by an official campaign, stretching federal rules that bar super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, from coordinating with a candidate. Never Back Down has staged events featuring DeSantis as a \u201cspecial guest,\u201d run a bus tour through Iowa, and funded a pro-DeSantis door-knocking effort. But The New York Times<\/em> reported<\/a> last week that \u201csince the close of the filing period\u201d that showed such high numbers for the PAC, \u201csome top Republican donors have begun backing away\u201d from the Florida governor, who is dealing with disappointing polling numbers and accusations of a poorly run campaign. In FiveThirtyEight\u2019s average<\/a> of primary polls, DeSantis trails the current Republican frontrunner, thrice-indicted former president Donald Trump<\/strong>, by nearly 40 points.<\/p>\n Bigelow said he wouldn\u2019t donate any more to DeSantis\u2019s efforts \u201cuntil I see that he’s able to generate more on his own.\u201d \u201cI’m already too big a percentage,” he said, adding that \u201ca lot of [DeSantis] donors are still on the fence.”<\/p>\n In a statement to Reuters, a DeSantis spokesperson said the campaign was “grateful” to donors for “the capacity to compete for the long haul,” but did not explicitly address Bigelow\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n