Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled a campaign event in which he was reportedly planning to announce the acceptance of cryptocurrency contributions toward his 2024 presidential run.
According to an Aug. 29 report from the Miami Herald, DeSantis canceled a cocktail-hour fundraiser for his 2024 presidential campaign in which he was expected to start accepting donations in crypto. The cancellation was due to the approach of Hurricane Idalia — a storm that hit Florida’s coastline on Aug. 30 before moving into Georgia.
DeSantis appeared to abstain from campaign events in advance of the hurricane passing through Florida. He took to social media channels and press conferences to inform residents about evacuation orders and other relevant information.
Overnight, #Idalia strengthened and now has sustained hurricane-force winds.
It is still expected to make landfall at Florida’s Big Bend as a major hurricane tomorrow. If you are in the path of this storm, now is the time to finalize your preparations. Continue to follow @FLSERT… pic.twitter.com/3yCSHtIJIK
According to DeSantis’ campaign website, the candidate was only accepting fiat donations using a credit card. Cointelegraph reached out to the campaign for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
DeSantis, who is trailing by double digits to former President Donald Trump according to several polls, would be one of only a handful of candidates to accept donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced he would be accepting crypto campaign contributions in August but dropped out of the race after failing to qualify for the first Republican Party debate.
Campaigns for Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and longshot Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have both announced they will accept BTC contributions for their respective presidential runs. Many reports showed both Ramaswamy and Kennedy polling in the single digits as of Aug. 30 — far behind their respective party leaders, Trump and President Joe Biden.
Historically, crypto contributions to individuals running for federal office, when accepted, have not been make-or-break for the candidates. Andrew Yang’s political action committee accepted BTC donations for his 2020 campaign, but he ended up dropping out of the race in February 2020.
Lawmakers in certain U.S. states have aimed to regulate disclosure rules for digital asset contributions or otherwise establish a limit to the amount any one person can give in crypto. In December 2022, the U.S. Federal Election Commission issued an advisory suggesting companies could provide nonfungible tokens to campaign contributors.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
More from Politics
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.