DeSantis 'personally involved' in campaign’s attempts to 'sell his personal time' to donors: report

Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis was "personally involved" in "efforts to effectively auction off leisure time" to wealthy donors who were seeking to "influence" policies in the Sunshine State — and much of it was recorded in writing by DeSantis staffers, Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey reveal in Sunday's Washington Post.

After "DeSantis took office in 2019, his political team made a list of the state's top 40 lobbyists and about 100 of their 'Suggested Clients to target' for political contributions, according to a fundraising document reviewed by The Washington Post," the correspondents write. "Next to the name of each lobbyist was a dollar figure, an 'ask' that the DeSantis team hoped they would raise based on their book of clients, whose names were also listed in the document and included large corporations such as Disney and Motorola, as well as sports organizations, billionaires and interest groups with extensive business before the state."

DeSantis' "fundraisers," Arnsdorf and Dawsey explain, "hoped that nine lobbyists would raise at least $1 million each for DeSantis' political action committee, the state and the Republican Governors Association, according to the document, which was drafted by Heather Barker, a top DeSantis aide and his primary fundraiser, and shared with others."

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DeSantis' affinity for hitting the links was the bedrock of his team's plan to woo financial contributors, whom the Post says "envisioned that some golf outings with the governor would net contributions of $75,000 or more, according to other emails among DeSantis' political advisers."

Golf, however, was not the only activity with the governor that was dangled in front of DeSantis' monied supporters.

"The 2019 document detailed other avenues for securing contributions. 'METHODS FOR FIRMS TO DELIVER SUPPORT: Golf, lunch, meetings, dinner, tours, events, etc. — Each have a threshold (ex. Golf $25k per person, which is a deal),' reads the document, whose authenticity was confirmed by multiple people with knowledge of it," per the Post. "Like others interviewed for this story, the people spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation."

Arnsdorf and Dawsey note that while legal experts told them that DeSantis's actions may not be explicitly illegal, they "undermine his attempt to portray himself as someone who would do a better job taking on special interests than former president Donald Trump, the polling leader in the GOP race. 'We'e drained the swamp in here,' he said in a recent Fox News interview about his time as governor in Florida. 'One of the things he did not do was drain the swamp.'"

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DeSantis, Arnsdorf and Dawsey continue, "made some calls to lobbyists, the documents show, and often took meetings that were orchestrated by the team, which was run by political aides to the governor. DeSantis was personally briefed about the broad fundraising effort and approved it, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the program. Documents reviewed by The Post show DeSantis was provided updates in writing about how much money lobbyists had raised from which clients."

DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo insisted that "despite The Washington Post's best efforts to sensationalize standard fundraising practices, donors never have and never will dictate policy for Ron DeSantis — just ask Disney."

Arnsdorf and Dawsey recall that "a state party credit card was on file to cover fees and meals in at least one club where they played, and lobbyists were told he preferred certain courses. DeSantis told advisers that he wanted to play a particular set of courses in Florida and across the country, people formerly in his orbit said. He preferred two courses in the Tallahassee area called Golden Eagle and Glen Arven, a private course just across the Georgia line. DeSantis came to Glen Arven without being a member so many times early in his governorship that a club official called a DeSantis adviser and asked the governor to curb his visits or join the club, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. He did not join the club."

Romeo was "asked about the incident" by the Post and called it "fake news."

Nonetheless, Dawsey and Arnsdorf stress, "the documents and interviews provide an extraordinary glimpse of how DeSantis and his team interacted with big donors, as they appeared to sell his personal time to political contributors. They included some of Florida's biggest corporations, including some companies that went on to win favorable policy changes from DeSantis' administration."

Moreover, the Post adds, "the documents and interviews show how personally involved DeSantis was with the operation. One 2019 memo described that he had made eight calls to lobbyists to secure their fundraising commitments already and planned others. The document stressed the importance of solicitations directly from the governor. It continued that the DeSantis' team would check in quarterly with lobbyists and apply 'pressure' if they were not meeting goals — and that each lobbyist would be tracked."

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View Arnsdorf's and Dawsey's full report at this link (subscription required).