DeSantis' 'Freedom Fund' will target abortion, pot amendments on Florida ballot

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Gov. Ron DeSantis has launched a new political committee to target a pair of ballot initiatives on abortion access and legalizing marijuana in Florida, as he looks to block policies Democrats believe will bring them back into relevancy in the state.

The committee — called the Florida Freedom Fund — was quietly launched late last month and its official chair is James Uthmeier, the governor’s chief of staff who also worked as campaign manager for DeSantis’ run for president.

The creation of the committee — which did not report raising any money in the final week of May — comes as DeSantis tries to reassert control over his home state after his failed presidential run. It reinforces that DeSantis primary political goal for the 2024 election is the defeat of the amendments, both of which have already raised millions of dollars.

A person familiar with DeSantis’ plans — but not authorized to speak publicly — said the political committee would not only target the two amendments, but also get involved in school board races.

“As Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to lead our great state, the Florida Freedom Fund will be championing issues and candidates committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom,” said Taryn Fenske, a spokesperson for the governor. “From up and down ballot races to critical amendments, we're steadfast in our mission to keep Florida free.”

DeSantis has also pledged to raise money for former President Donald Trump and is planning some fundraising trips to other states as part of that effort. But he has said that he does not anticipate doing a lot of campaigning for Trump in Florida because he contends the state will not be competitive for Democrats. A poll released by Fox News late last week, however, showed that Trump is only leading President Joe Biden by four points in a head-to-head matchup. That is just beyond the June poll’s margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

That same poll showed that the two amendments were poised to pass. The Fox News poll said that 69 percent of registered voters supported the abortion access measure, while 66 percent supported the initiative on marijuana. Florida initiatives need a yes vote of 60 percent or more to pass.

DeSantis has roundly criticized both initiatives as “radical” and “extreme” and has predicted that voters would ultimately reject them. But thus far, there has yet to be organized opposition to either ballot measure — something DeSantis' new political committee could rapidly change.

Smart & Safe Florida — the organization bankrolled by Florida’s largest medical marijuana company that is sponsoring the pot initiative — has already begun running television ads urging voters to vote yes. A recent analysis by the ad tracking firm AdImpact showed that the organization had spent nearly $3.8 million on ads in May and June.

DeSantis shut down his previous state political committee right ahead of his presidential campaign. He raised more than $200 million into that committee, which eventually wound up transferring more than $80 million to Never Back Down, a super PAC set up to aid his run for president. DeSantis ended his presidential campaign after coming in a distant second to Trump in the Iowa caucuses.

Many in DeSantis’ orbit expect him to launch another run for president in 2028, two years after he will leave office due to term limits. The passage of two amendments could be seen as voters rejecting part of the “Florida blueprint” he has touted on the campaign trail the past two years.

Right before he ran for president, DeSantis signed into law a measure that banned abortion in the state after six weeks of pregnancy. The law did not take effect until May of this year because it was tied to a legal challenge that was before the Florida Supreme Court.

The abortion access amendment would guarantee abortion up to the point of viability, which is generally around 24 weeks.

Ahead of the 2022 elections, DeSantis waded into non-partisan school board races where he endorsed candidates and directed financial support in multiple races in order to help reshape counties like Miami-Dade and Sarasota. He and Republicans leaders, as well as the group Moms for Liberty, last year came up with a list of more than a dozen school board races they wanted to target during this election cycle.