A lavish campaign event held at a luxurious Georgia resort by the Ron DeSantis-affiliated Florida Freedom Fund has backfired, resulting in a financial loss for the group. The event, aimed at opposing Florida’s cannabis and abortion amendments, saw the Florida Freedom Fund spend nearly $116,000 between August 31st and September 6th, while raising just over $41,000 during the same period, according to Florida Politics. This means the group’s spending outpaced its contributions for the second time, with the majority of the expenditure, around $115,000, going towards the Ritz-Carlton resort in Georgia. This staggering sum represents over a third of the campaign’s total expenditures since its inception.
The cannabis legalization initiative, known as Amendment 3, is scheduled to be presented to Florida voters in the upcoming November elections. Despite the extravagant spending on the Georgia event, the Florida Freedom Fund’s fundraising efforts remain lackluster. The committee’s struggles are mirrored by another anti-amendment group linked to DeSantis, Keep Florida Clean, which spent over $286,000 during the same period but only raised $1,600.
Meanwhile, the pro-cannabis campaign, spearheaded by the Smart & Safe Florida committee, is enjoying an abundance of funding, making Amendment 3 the best-funded cannabis legalization amendment in American history. By August 30th, the amendment had garnered $90.44 million in contributions, according to Ballotpedia. Trulieve Cannabis Corp, Florida’s largest medical marijuana company, has been the most significant contributor, providing $87.77 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the Smart & Safe committee since 2022, as reported by News Service of Florida.
DeSantis has recently expressed disapproval of Trulieve, labeling the company a corporate monopoly aiming to corner the cannabis market.
The Florida Freedom Fund and Keep Florida Clean committees, both chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ chief of staff and former campaign manager, are facing financial challenges despite receiving notable donations. The Florida Freedom Fund has a remaining cash balance of just over $3.4 million as of September 6th. Keep Florida Clean has slightly more, with over $3.9 million in cash reserves.
While fundraising has been underwhelming, the Florida Freedom Fund did receive significant contributions, including $25,000 from Next Generation Energy Corporation and $10,000 from a retiree in Pompano Beach. However, the committee still relies heavily on a $12 million donation received in mid-August from Citadel CEO Ken Griffin.
