Drew Wilson
With nearly $8.5 million in earnings, Ballard Partners snagged the No. 2 spot in Florida Politics’ lobbying firm rankings for the second quarter.
The firm founded by Brian Ballard collected more than $4.94 million in legislative lobbying pay and reeled in $3.54 million lobbying the executive branch — the best total of all firms on that side of the fence.
The $8.5 million haul follows up on a $9 million performance in the first quarter. Three months later, Ballard Partners remains the only lobbying firm ever to cross the $9 million mark in quarterly revenues.
Their Q2 Tally team, led by Managing Partner Abby Vail: Michael Abrams; former Florida CFO Jeff Atwater; Brady Benford; Carol Bracy; Christina Brodeur; Bradley Burleson; Robert Burleson; Jennifer Busby; former DeSantis Deputy Chief of Staff Courtney Coppola; Ana Cruz; former Jax Mayor Lenny Curry; former Rep. Jose Diaz; former Secretary of Economic Opportunity Dane Eagle; Jordan Elsbury; Mathew Forrest; Jan Gorrie; Christopher Hansen; John Johnston; Todd Josko; former DeSantis Chief of Staff Adrian Lukis; Carlos Ramos; Monica Rodriguez; Katherine San Pedro; Justin Sayfie; Tola Thompson; Courtney Whitney; and Amy Young.
The international firm’s $8.5 million second quarter represents an increase of more than 10% from the $7.6 million it reported for the same quarter last year.
Ballard Partners also continued representing several clients that broke the $50,000 cap on range reporting. It touts eight contracts in the $50,000-plus range — seven in the Legislature and one more in the executive. The firm’s top Q2 client was Extremity Care, which paid $250,000 overall, split evenly across Ballard’s reports. Advanced Rx Pharmacy ranked No. 2 with $98,000 overall.
A handful of Fortune 500s are also listed on the firm’s list of 300-plus Florida clients, including Amazon, one of a half-dozen companies worldwide with a trillion-dollar-plus market cap. County and municipal governments are also a revenue driver, as are some of the largest state universities in Florida — Ballard Partners represents the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, Florida Atlantic University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, which have a combined student body of more than 160,000.
Florida Politics estimates lobbying pay based on the middle number of the per-client ranges firms listed on their compensation reports. Contracts are reported in $10,000 increments up to $50,000. Firms are also required to register overall earnings ranges. However, firm-level ranges top out at $1 million, a hurdle most firms in the Top 10 — including Ballard Partners — easily clear.
Based on Ballard Partners’ per-client ranges, the firm’s overall earnings could have topped $11.21 million in Q2 — $6.28 million in the Legislature and $4.93 million in the executive branch. If the firm keeps pace in the second half of 2024, its earnings would approach the $36 million mark, which is well above the $31 million it collected in 2023.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a Aug. 14 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering April 1 through June 30. Compensation reports for the third quarter are due to the state on Nov. 14.
