There’s little doubting what a Florida lawmaker meant in this message
State Capitol Building in Tallahassee, Florida

State Capitol Building in Tallahassee

The message begins innocuous enough.

“Hope this week has gone well for you! I do hope you can pull together the support we discussed and join me on (date redacted).”

That’s the beginning of a text message from a Republican state Senator to a respected member of the lobby corps obtained by Florida Politics. The names of those involved have been redacted to protect the source who provided the information.

“Would really mean a lot for you to make it work.”

Wait, what?

“Would really mean a lot for you to make it work.”

No, we don’t think that message has anything to do with sex scandals which have engulfed the Florida Senate. What this message is is an old fashioned trading of campaign donations for, presumably, access.

It’s pay-to-play in its elemental form, so much so that I am surprised the lawmaker put the terms in writing.

There’s a lot of behavior in the Florida Senate which needs to change and it’s not just about the #MeToo movement.

Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including Florida Politics and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Schorsch is also the publisher of INFLUENCE Magazine. For several years, Peter's blog was ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.


One comment

  • Jan L

    January 13, 2018 at 6:53 am

    You didn’t give us anything here, Peter … this could be about the support of a soup kitchen!

Comments are closed.


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