In its latest campaign finance disclosure filed on Monday, the Gaetz campaign reported raising $534,000 in the final three months of last year -- a major drop from the $1.8 million he raised in the first three months of the year, fresh off the 2020 election.
A dip in fundraising between election years isn't uncommon, and some of Gaetz's GOP colleagues, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, saw a similar slowdown in fundraising from their earlier hauls. A joint fundraising operation between Gaetz and Greene also reported bringing in only $19,000 in the final quarter of 2021, compared to the nearly $360,000 it raised in the second quarter.
In the first few months of 2021, as news of the investigation into Gaetz and his associates emerged, the campaign also spent more than $800,000 on strategic consulting by PR firm Logan Circle Group -- but the campaign's payments to the firm dropped to under $3,000 in the final three months of 2021. As his fundraising slowed down last year, Gaetz's campaign spending also dropped significantly, with disclosures showing most of his money going to direct mail messaging and fundraising.