DeSantis donors are the target of ad campaign

A national political action committee began an advertising campaign Thursday calling out high-dollar political donors to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The political group 314 Action said people will start seeing ads on Google, Facebook and via text messages that highlight four political donors. The PAC said their donations, which collectively total $4 million to support DeSantis since 2018, “are funding an agenda that has killed thousands of Floridians.”

One version starts with the declaration, “42,252 dead from COVID.” It then gives the name and picture of a donor and says the person “funded Gov. DeSantis’ COVID agenda.”

The donors shown are Isaac Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment, of Palm Beach; Daniel MacNeil, founder and CEO of WeatherTech, of Fort Lauderdale; Gale Lemerand, CEO of Stonewood Holdings, of Daytona Beach; and Bernard Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, of Daytona Beach.

314 Action is a political action committee that tries to get people with science backgrounds elected to office. The PAC said in a statement it would be “educating” the donors “about “the governor’s destructive, anti-science agenda.”

DeSantis has emphasized personal responsibility and opposed mandates such as mask rules to combat COVID-19 in Florida.

“DeSantis’ failure to fight the pandemic with science and medicine has led to the deaths of tens of thousands — including children — across Florida,” 314 Action said.

Helen Aguirre Ferré, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, said DeSantis has taken actions that have saved lives.

“Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, vaccines and lifesaving treatments are readily accessible and saving lives. Even Dr. [Anthony] Fauci agrees with Gov. DeSantis that the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatments work,” Ferré said via email. “Defending freedom in Florida is the right thing to do and the tens of thousands of new residents that now call Florida home haven’t cast a ballot yet but they have voted with their feet in favor of Gov. DeSantis’ policies.”

314 Action said the first installment of its Florida campaign would involve spending five figures. In 2020, it spent $25 million to

help candidates and helped them raise another $5. For the 2022 elections, its goal is $50 million.