A national group circulating a petition to convince Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to jump into the 2024 presidential campaign expressed confidence Monday that it will win a court’s green light to turn its list of 230,000 names over to the Republican, who is mulling a bid.
Citing the latest wave of legal wrangling with the Federal Election Commission, Ready for Ron attorney Dan Backer said that “I’m pretty optimistic” a federal judge will let him deliver the list, complete with names, addresses, and emails, to DeSantis.
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On Friday, Ready for Ron and the FEC filed new arguments in the drawn-out case, and Backer said some of what the election agency filed “actually helped make our case.”
It dates back to last year, when Ready for Ron sought to get the FEC’s OK for its efforts, something the group thought would be a formality. But the FEC put on the brakes instead, arguing that building and providing a list of supporters to DeSantis, who hasn’t declared his candidacy, was something of value that had to be regulated.
In two court filings last week, however, the FEC offered confusing arguments and cases that Backer said make his case that the transfer of the petition “is totally legal.”
Backer wrote in his Friday filing that the FEC included new cases that do not support the agency’s argument that information Ready for Ron wants to give DeSantis is prohibited as a sizable in-kind contribution.
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“The new advisory opinions the FEC cites materially bolster RFR’s case; RFR is grateful for the Commission’s support, however inadvertent,” he wrote.
It is unclear when U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss will decide on Ready for Ron’s request to move ahead, but Backer said he believes the judge is eager to rule soon.
