High-stakes elections costing millions of dollars are a simple fact in American democracy, and politicians will go to great lengths to secure the money they need to finance them.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is also seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is no exception.
A new report from Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post details how DeSantis and his team made a list of the state’s top 40 lobbyists and “about 100” of their “suggested clients to target” for political contributions.
DeSantis’ team effectively auctioned off leisure time to those seeking to influence state policy, according to The Post. One primary vehicle for that was the game of golf, which DeSantis, like a lot of politicians on both sides of the idealogical aisle, love to play.
DeSantis’ fundraisers envisioned that “some golf outings with the governor would net contributions of $75,000 or more,” according to emails obtained by The Post.
“I could sell golf for $50k this morning,” top DeSantis aide Heather Barker wrote in one email after a “prominent Tallahassee lobbyist and his wife” voiced interest in playing golf with DeSantis and his wife, Casey, as a “course the governor favored.”
While nothing criminal is alleged in the report, it shows how the game of golf is used by the rich and powerful to gain access to politicians with regulation over their various financial interests.
