Recently, campaign documents revealed that Governor Ron DeSantis' former state political action committee (PAC) had transferred an astounding $82.5 million into a federal super PAC, despite objections from a watchdog organization about the legitimacy of the financing manoeuvres. This news has sparked quite the conversation about the fairness and transparency involved in political financing, with some calling for a closer look at the funding methods of all politicians.
However, despite the controversy surrounding the transfer, the DeSantis 2024 presidential campaign has released a statement saying that they plan to rely on every penny of the contentious funds. It remains to be seen what the fallout from this revelation will be and whether it will impact DeSantis' electoral prospects going forward.
A watchdog organization has claimed that transferring tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations from state political committees to federal Super PACs is illegal. Amidst this, the Campaign Legal Center filed an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in late May. While awaiting a response from the FEC, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Legal Centre noted that it may be a year or more before they receive a reply, as reported by the Florida Phoenix.
The Florida Phoenix previously written on the political strategies used to funnel Florida state funds into a federal fund for DeSantis' presidential campaign.
The problem began when DeSantis leveraged his state PAC, "Friends of Ron DeSantis," to raise more than $200 million for his reelection campaign last year. Despite easily defeating Democrat Charlie Crist in the gubernatorial race, over $60 million from that state PAC remained. Once DeSantis ceased fundraising efforts for his campaign, he should have shut down the PAC. However, it continued accepting donations instead.
Campaign finance organizations took notice, including the Campaign Legal Centre, who claimed that it is illegal for state political committees to transfer those funds into presidential superPACS because in order to receive unlimited contributions, federal superPACS must act independently and not in concert with a campaign.
Then, this month, when it became clear that the state PAC would be moving those cash to a federal pool of campaign funds, DeSantis started to distance himself from his own state political organization.
State senator Blaise Ingoglia was subsequently named chair of "Friends of Ron DeSantis" and later changed its name to "Empower Parents PAC," demonstrating its independence from DeSantis. In May, Ingoglia notified the State Department that the Empower Parents PAC was no longer organized and functioning as a Florida political committee. In turn, $82.5 million was then redirected to Never Back Down, a federal super PAC founded this year to support a DeSantis presidential candidacy. Interestingly, the information on $82.5 million was still visible on the Empower Parents PAC website, despite having closed on or before May 30, and the funds were not visible in the State's campaign financing records.
The legality of moving political contributions from a state campaign fund to a federal account has come under scrutiny. A complaint to the federal FEC was lodged and a 2016 guidebook from the Florida Division of Elections prohibited such action. However, the Florida Department of State's most recent manual, issued in March, now recommends allowing such transfers, citing influence from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.
However, despite the controversy surrounding the transfer, the DeSantis 2024 presidential campaign has released a statement saying that they plan to rely on every penny of the contentious funds. It remains to be seen what the fallout from this revelation will be and whether it will impact DeSantis' electoral prospects going forward.
A watchdog organization has claimed that transferring tens of millions of dollars in campaign donations from state political committees to federal Super PACs is illegal. Amidst this, the Campaign Legal Center filed an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in late May. While awaiting a response from the FEC, a spokeswoman for the Campaign Legal Centre noted that it may be a year or more before they receive a reply, as reported by the Florida Phoenix.
The Florida Phoenix previously written on the political strategies used to funnel Florida state funds into a federal fund for DeSantis' presidential campaign.
The problem began when DeSantis leveraged his state PAC, "Friends of Ron DeSantis," to raise more than $200 million for his reelection campaign last year. Despite easily defeating Democrat Charlie Crist in the gubernatorial race, over $60 million from that state PAC remained. Once DeSantis ceased fundraising efforts for his campaign, he should have shut down the PAC. However, it continued accepting donations instead.
Campaign finance organizations took notice, including the Campaign Legal Centre, who claimed that it is illegal for state political committees to transfer those funds into presidential superPACS because in order to receive unlimited contributions, federal superPACS must act independently and not in concert with a campaign.
Then, this month, when it became clear that the state PAC would be moving those cash to a federal pool of campaign funds, DeSantis started to distance himself from his own state political organization.
State senator Blaise Ingoglia was subsequently named chair of "Friends of Ron DeSantis" and later changed its name to "Empower Parents PAC," demonstrating its independence from DeSantis. In May, Ingoglia notified the State Department that the Empower Parents PAC was no longer organized and functioning as a Florida political committee. In turn, $82.5 million was then redirected to Never Back Down, a federal super PAC founded this year to support a DeSantis presidential candidacy. Interestingly, the information on $82.5 million was still visible on the Empower Parents PAC website, despite having closed on or before May 30, and the funds were not visible in the State's campaign financing records.
The legality of moving political contributions from a state campaign fund to a federal account has come under scrutiny. A complaint to the federal FEC was lodged and a 2016 guidebook from the Florida Division of Elections prohibited such action. However, the Florida Department of State's most recent manual, issued in March, now recommends allowing such transfers, citing influence from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.
