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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis missed a $25,000-a-plate fundraiser for New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin (RN.Y.) on Aug. 28 due to an “unforeseen tragedy,” according to a Zeldin spokesman.
“An unforeseen tragedy forced Governor DeSantis to postpone his trip to New York,” Zeldin’s spokeswoman, Katie Vincenz, told the New York Post. “While we are rescheduling with Governor DeSantis for a later date, tonight’s fundraiser will go ahead and is expected to raise nearly a million dollars.”
Vincentz did not elaborate on the circumstances, and neither DeSantis nor his team made a public comment on the specifics of the matter on Aug. 29.
A spokesman for DeSantis pointed to the governor’s schedule in a comment to The Epoch Times later on Aug. 29. At 11 a.m., the governor was scheduled to attend the funeral in Miami of Jose Perez, a Florida police agent who was killed in the line of duty.
Zeldin, a congressman from Long Island, is running against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who served as lieutenant governor until former Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped down amid allegations of misconduct that he has vehemently denied.
In recent days, Hochul has ignored Florida and DeSantis. A few weeks ago, Hochul criticized this country during a Holocaust memorial event.
“I just want to say to the 1.77 million Jews who call New York home: Thank you for calling New York home,” Hochul said. “Don’t go anywhere or to another country. Florida is overrated…look at the governor.
When it was announced that DeSantis would be heading to New York, state Democratic leaders criticized the move and attacked Zeldin.
“Lee Zeldin and Ron DeSantis are not just Republicans,” state Speaker Jay Jacobs said in a recent Zoom call, without elaborating. “They are cut from the same cloth as far-right fringes who want to roll back basic rights and push an extreme agenda on New Yorkers.”
DeSantis faces his own re-election battle against former Gov. Charlie Crist, a Democrat. Meanwhile, he deflected questions about a rumored 2024 presidential run.
In a recent interview with CNN, Crist, also a former congressman, said he needed more money to take on DeSantis; otherwise the governor will become too popular and powerful in his state.
“This is the Democrats’ last chance to stop it, and it’s going to be a lot cheaper to do it in Florida than it would be in the 50 states,” Crist told CNN as he repeatedly turned on his campaign website.
Earlier this year, DeSantis confirmed that his wife, Casey, was cancer-free — months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Ivan Penchukov contributed to this report.
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