First Read

Ron DeSantis wants your name, email and phone number for his birthday

So his campaign can hit you up for a contribution. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attends a live taping of 'Hannity' at Fox News Channel studios, Sept. 13, 2023 in New York City.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis attends a live taping of 'Hannity' at Fox News Channel studios, Sept. 13, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

By Tristan Wood

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Tristan Wood
By Tristan Wood
Staff Writer

Today is Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 45th birthday, and his campaign is taking advantage of it. Team DeSantis rolled out a series of ads on social media using his wife Casey’s social media accounts asking supporters to sign his virtual birthday card. The campaign also has been sending out text messages asking for signatures. 

“Our digital team is reaching out to every patriot we know to take just 1 minute to sign his card and leave a personal message. Would you like to include your name?” the text message reads. Of course, upon giving your name, email and phone number with the message, the campaign later will likely hit you up for a contribution. 

To be sure, this type of “lead” fundraising strategy isn’t new. The campaign did something similar for Casey’s birthday in June. Michelle Obama asked supporters to fill out a card for Barack Obama in 2010 in a similar digital campaign. And Melania Trump did the same for her husband, former President Donald Trump, in 2020. 

Also of note: While he is now another year older, DeSantis is still much younger than Trump and President Joe Biden. The governor worked that into his campaign’s messaging this week. "The presidency is not a job for someone that's 80 years old," DeSantis said in a CBS interview. “... I think there's going to be a lot of Americans that are going to want to see a generational passing of the torch. 

This is First Up, an excerpt from City & State's daily morning newsletter, First Read. To subscribe for free, please visit our newsletters page. 

NEXT STORY: Equality Florida debuts chatbot for abortion

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