Politico explains how a seemingly obscure move–severing ties to Friends of Ron DeSantis– is key to the viability of a presidential bid in 2024. Differences between Florida’s permissive campaign finance laws and the laws governing federal campaigns mean that DeSantis must distance himself from the tens of millions he has collected under state law in order to benefit from them during his federal campaign. As summarized succinctly:

“DeSantis cannot use money raised for Friends of Ron DeSantis in a federal race because state law does not limit how much someone can give to the political committee or the source of the donations. But that money could be shifted to a super PAC that backs DeSantis if the governor is no longer connected to the political committee.”