‘Ready to fight for change’: Jane Fonda Climate PAC backs Aramis Ayala for Attorney General

Six months after launching a political committee to support anti-pollution candidates across America, actress and activist Jane Fonda is endorsing Democratic candidate Aramis Ayala for Attorney General.

On Monday, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC announced its support of Ayala, a former State Attorney, over incumbent Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody. The organization also posted a video to Twitter of Fonda reiterating the endorsement.

“For too long, fossil fuel companies have had a stranglehold on Florida’s politicians,” Fonda said in a statement.

“Likewise, corporate polluters have not been held accountable. They are getting a free pass. Aramis Ayala has shown time and again that she believes no one is above the law, and that she is ready to fight for change. We must elect her as the state’s next Attorney General.”

Since its March founding, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC has raised more than $670,000 through personal contributions. Donors to the PAC include documentary filmmaker Abigail Disney, artist Shepard Fairey, oil heiress and philanthropist Aileen Getty, screenwriter and producer Norman Lear and actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo.

Fonda herself gave the PAC $150,000.

Through June 30, the organization has spent about $227,000, including donations to Pennsylvania congressional candidate Summer Lee, former Congresswoman Donna Edwards and former Rhode Island congressional candidate David Segal, among others.

Ayala said she is honored to receive the Jane Fonda Climate PAC endorsement, which joins others from the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida, Ruth’s List Florida, Working Families, Democracy for America, Democratic Public Education Caucus, The Collective PAC, Elect Black Women, Florida College Democrats, Higher Heights for America, LEAD, OCYD, Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, SEIU Florida, retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and musician John Legend.

“Like Jane has done for her entire career, I promise I will never deviate from my beliefs or values, no matter the cost,” she said in a statement. “That means working tirelessly to stop climate change and end our devastating reliance on fossil fuels. This fight is critical for our planet, and my two beautiful daughters will inherit it.”

The group argues Florida, broadly considered the nation’s ground zero for climate change, must elect officials who will reverse counterintuitive measures like a law Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year prohibiting localities from limiting fossil fuel use and moving to cleaner energy sources.

“Ayala is no stranger to hard fights,” the group said, adding that she will “have no problem standing up to special interests and companies that cause extreme environmental harm.”

Fonda, who confirmed Sept. 2 that she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, called Ayala “totally unafraid to hold big oil and fossil fuel polluters accountable” and “exactly the kind of leader we need in office to tackle the climate crisis.”

Florida’s first Black State Attorney, Ayala served for one term in the Orlando area from 2017 to 2021. That May, she announced plans to run for the U.S. Senate, then the U.S. House, before switching to the Attorney General race in March.

Last month, she defeated two fellow Democrats with 45% of the vote in a Primary Election to secure the right to challenge Moody in the Nov. 8 General Election.

Ayala is running at a significant funding disadvantage. Through Sept. 9, she has raised about $141,000 through her campaign account. A political committee associated with her campaign, Justice for Florida PC, raised another $34,000 over the same period.

The two accounts held less than $38,000 combined this month.

Moody, meanwhile, has raised more than $1.7 million through her campaign account alone this election cycle. Combined with six-figure sums added monthly to her political committee, Friends of Ashley Moody, she has nearly $7 million left to spend through Election Day.