Ron DeSantis-tied committee spends big on Georgia Ritz-Carlton retreat as it fights pot, abortion initiatives in Florida

The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee. Image via Ritz-Carlton.

Will a six-figure campaign event at a Georgia resort help defeat two Florida constitutional amendments this Fall?

The Florida Freedom Fund, a committee opposing initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and restore abortion access, blew through nearly $116,000 between Aug. 31 and Sept. 6, even though it raised just over $41,000 in the same time.

Nearly all of that spending covered lodging and event space at The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee, in Greensboro, Georgia. That spend, reported on Sept. 5, constitutes nearly $115,000 in campaign expenditures, more than a third of the total campaign expenses since the committee launched in May.

That most recent fundraising report marks the second time since launch that the campaign’s expenditures exceeded its intake, and the first time the difference was more than $1,000.

The fund is one of two campaign efforts tied to Gov. Ron DeSantis that burned through six figures since September began.

The Keep Florida Clean Inc. committee, which is focused on defeating the pro-pot Amendment 3, spent more than $286,000 in the same period while only raising around $1,600.

Both committees are chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ Chief of Staff at the Governor’s Office and DeSantis’ former Campaign Manager for his since-suspended presidential campaign.

The Florida Freedom Fund has taken aim at both Amendment 3 and 4, the abortion measure, and have relied heavily on DeSantis delivering messaging. The committee, for example, publicized an event in Tampa on Aug. 15 where DeSantis focused on opposing Amendment 4.

The Florida Freedom Fund’s most recent contributions include a $25,000 donation from NextGen Management in Boca Raton, as well as a $10,000 check from Pompano Beach retiree Victoria Rose. Paul and Nancy Curti of Venice also each donated $2,500, but the committee saw only eight other donations, all worth less than $1,000, in the fundraising period.

Keep Florida Clean, meanwhile, collected just one four-figure check, taking in $1,000 from Illinois retiree Julie Schauer. The committee continues to rely heavily on a $12 million donation from Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and little else.

As of Sept. 6, the Florida Freedom Fund had a little more than $3.4 million remaining in cash on hand. Keep Florida Clean had just over $3.9 million.

Besides the lavish Greensboro expense, which makes up more than a third of Florida Freedom Fund’s total spending, the committee this month paid more than $600 to a software subscription with Carl Sceusa in Naples.

The biggest spend from Keep Florida Clean went toward a $250,000 advertising buy with Washington-based IMGE. Another $36,000 went to communications with firms in Washington and Florida.