DeSantis Admin Pressures FL Lobbyists For Donations

NBC News reports:

Officials who work for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration — not his campaign — have been sending text messages to Florida lobbyists soliciting political contributions for DeSantis’ presidential bid, a breach of traditional norms that has raised ethical and legal questions and left many here in the state capital shocked.

NBC News reviewed text messages from four DeSantis administration officials, including those directly in the governor’s office and with leadership positions in state agencies. They requested the recipient of the message contribute to the governor’s campaign through a specific link that appeared to track who is giving as part of a “bundle” program.

“The bottom line is that the administration appears to be keeping tabs on who is giving, and are doing it using state staff,” a longtime Florida lobbyist said. “You are in a prisoner’s dilemma. They are going to remain in power. We all understand that.”

Read the full article.

DeSantis admin staff on the official, not political, side are soliciting lobbyists for campaign $ for his presidential bid

10 gop lobbyists NBC News talked to said they’ve never seen anything like it and are feeling pressure to give to save prioritieshttps://t.co/yKnlqRCJsx

— Matt Dixon (@Mdixon55) May 26, 2023

The $117b state budget and several bills remain on DeSantis desk

That’s a lot of leverage, and those who got the texts are feeling pressure

Beyond that, it’s just so drastically beyond the norm. Taxpayer funded staff asking lobbyists for political $ isn’t how it usually works

— Matt Dixon (@Mdixon55) May 26, 2023