It’s difficult to count the number of pieces that have been written proclaiming Gov. DeSantis’ campaign launch an unmitigated failure. Politico’s entry is pretty typical.

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ was a glitch.

The Florida governor announced his presidential campaign on Twitter Spaces, in an appearance meant to be a veritable launch hosted by an actual rocket man.

But within seconds, it was clear that Tallahassee had a problem.

The feed broke, connections got cut off, the hosts seemed confused. It was inauspicious. It also was a black mark on the candidate’s supposed trademarks — expert organization and a comfort with the vanguard of modern media.

Well, that’s it I guess. DeSantis might as well give up now. I mean, his first impression is such a failure how could he go on? But shortly after these problems Twitter got the glitches sorted out and the announcement went on more or less as scheduled. Afterwards, DeSantis made light of the situation and put out this video.

Ron DeSantis says his official campaign launch "broke the internet" and now wants to "break WinRed." #DeSantis2024 #RonDeSantis #Twitterspaces

READ: https://t.co/BflIjXJbty pic.twitter.com/in7gDi47fF

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 25, 2023

Today we learned how that fundraising effort went. It went very, very well.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida raised $8.2 million in his first 24 hours as a presidential candidate, his campaign said on Thursday, a huge sum that cements his standing as the leading Republican rival to Donald J. Trump.

Mr. DeSantis’s campaign began on Wednesday evening with a glitch-filled kickoff on Twitter, but that apparently did not slow donor enthusiasm. The campaign said on Wednesday that it had raised $1 million during a single hour…

The $8.2 million brought in by Mr. DeSantis far outpaces how Mr. Trump began his 2024 fund-raising in late 2022. Mr. Trump had raised about $9.5 million in the six weeks after he announced his campaign in mid-November.

Part of Trump’s problem may have been that he announced his campaign a few weeks before Christmas when most people were not thinking about the 2024 election. Trump’s biggest single day haul came after he was indicted when he raised $4 million in 24 hours. DeSantis’ total also beat the $6.3 million Joe Biden raised in the first 24 hours after he announced he was running for election back in 2019.

Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential campaign announced Friday that it had raised $6.3 million in its opening 24 hours, surpassing the first-day totals of his rivals and easing concerns among some supporters over whether he would be able to compete financially in the Democratic primary…

On Friday, the campaign celebrated its total in a note to supporters, calling it “AMAZING news.”

If $6.3 million is amazing news what is $8.2 million? And Biden’s reelection fundraising this year has been off to a slow start. So slow that the campaign decided not to announce it.

Democrats are concerned that President Joe Biden hasn’t raised enough money from donors in the initial days since his Tuesday reelection announcement, potentially underscoring the perception that his run isn’t exciting voters.

The sluggish fundraising comes from a lack of outreach to major donors who can boost the early total by making big contributions to the Democratic Party, according to sources close to the campaign…

The campaign had planned to release fundraising totals after 48 hours, but may wait to generate more donations, the person said.

My point is that all of the professional leftists in the media who’ve been proclaiming DeSantis’ rollout a failure might need to recalibrate a bit. If this is what failure looks like, the other candidates, especially Joe Biden, would be happy to have some of it.

Some of the money DeSantis raised came from online fundraising but some of it also came from a phone bank effort that had been set up at the Four Seasons in Miami. DeSantis himself was there making calls for part of the day. A former congressman named Lou Barletta was there making calls. He told the Times, “I had very, very few people say no to me on those calls.”

The Twitter glitch that the media is freaking out over was insignificant. In this case, the bottom line is the bottom line. DeSantis had a very strong launch despite the media’s best efforts.

Finally, DeSantis was on Newsmax the other day and was asked about what separates him from President Trump as far as policy. Instead of going through a list of policy positions, DeSantis make the case for his electability. “I think you want to have somebody who can draw people in who may not have traditionally been Republicans and are willing to give us a shot,” he said. He added, “I do believe that there’s a limit to the number of voters that would consider the former president at this point…I think my ceiling is higher in a general election.”

Ron DeSantis makes the case for why he's more electable than Trump in a general election:

"You want to have somebody who can draw people in who may not have traditionally been Republicans and are willing to give us a shot … I do believe that there's a limit to the number of… pic.twitter.com/QiI847F8ZL

— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) May 26, 2023