New reporting shows DeSantis diverted more than $35 million in tax dollars to pay for ads to fight ballot initiatives
News and views for discerning Floridians and other Americans
Gov. Ron DeSantis diverted more than $35 million in taxpayer dollars—money intended to help poor people, including foster children—and used it instead for pet political campaigns, a blockbuster report out today discloses.
A grand jury in Tallahassee is already investigating how $10 million was diverted from a Medicaid overbilling settlement to a charity called Hope Florida Foundation run by Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife. From there, it is alleged the money was funneled into ad campaigns to oppose voter initiatives on the 2024 election ballot.
Now, according to a report in the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, it appears the total amount of diverted government funds was three times greater than earlier believed as the DeSantis administration tapped into other state funds.
The ballot initiatives in question were overwhelmingly approved by a majority of state voters. However, they fell short of the 60 percent needed to be enacted into law.
One initiative, which would have protected women’s reproductive rights, was approved by 57.2 percent of voters. The other, which would have legalized the recreational use of cannabis, got the OK from 55.9 percent of voters.
The millions of dollars diverted from the state’s coffers and used for advertising opposing these initiatives may very well have been enough to tip the scales and prevent them from reaching the necessary 60 percent threshold.
“This is no longer the ‘Free State of Florida,” said Anna Hochkammer, executive director of Florida Women’s Freedom Coalition, about the Hope Florida scandal. “This is a state that strips humans of their freedoms and dignity. A state whose government pushed a taxpayer-funded campaign using government resources to intimidate voters, silence women, and undermine democracy.”
According to the new reporting:
$16.4 million of state trust funds intended to be used, among other purposes, for child protection, were directed to Strategic Digital Services, a Republican aligned campaign firm, which used the money for advertising and marketing.
$10 million from Hope Florida was diverted to two nonprofits that gave nearly all to a political committee controlled by DeSantis’ chief of staff.
$5 million went to Florida Pregnancy Care Network and was used to oppose the women’s reproductive rights amendment.
$4.4 million of state Department of Transportation funds were used to produce ads distributed through the Florida Association of Broadcasters.
$407, 614 went to four different law firms that defended the DeSantis administration’s use of the above initiatives, money drawn from administrative and transportation trust funds.
This reporting builds on earlier work published by independent investigative reporter Jason Garcia that was also published here on Tropic Press.
The Herald and Times reporters sharing these latest disclosures are Lawrence Mower, Alexandra Glorioso, and Justin Garcia.
You can read their full reports in the links below.
As they note in today’s story:
Much of the state money was intended to assist needy Floridians, including children. Instead, it paid for political consultants, lawyers and thousands of advertisements that helped DeSantis and his supporters win at the ballot box.
The ads purchased with the diverted money blanketed TV, social media and radio stations in the weeks before the election. They defended Florida’s six-week abortion ban and made exaggerated claims about the dangers of marijuana without mentioning that both were the subject of ballot amendments last fall.
Along the way, the governor’s administration bent state spending laws and obscured millions in government spending, records and interviews show.
Related:
Times: DeSantis admin diverted child welfare and medical funds for consultants, ads
Herald: DeSantis admin diverted child welfare and medical funds for consultants, ads
Tropic Press: How DeSantis may have tipped the scales on abortion rights and recreational marijuana—an investigative report
Politico: Newly released records linked to Hope Florida reignite intra-GOP political battle
Florida Politics: Why the Hope Florida scandal isn’t going away, and why it could get worse
J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida.
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Keep digging---maybe Ron gave some of those millions to Big Daddy's Ballroom Fund, hoping to be invited. Indict him.
At what point does "bending the rules" become breaking them? Everyone involved in this should be prosecuted. Every Floridian has been screwed by this administration. Republican voters may not realize it, but their rights have been violated just the same as everyone else's.