The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has launched a political action committee that is targeting popular ballot amendments on abortion access and marijuana legalization that will be voted on in November.
The group, known as the Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May, Politico first reported. The committee is chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff who was previously the Republican’s campaign manager during his unsuccessful presidential primary run.
In addition to targeting ballot initiatives, the committee will get involved in school board races, Politico reported, citing an individual who is familiar with the group’s plans.
Florida Republicans have attempted to maximize their political control of local school boards, especially amid book bans and far-right education laws banning discussions of race and sexual identity being passed in the state, WUFT reported.
A spokesperson for the governor told Politico that the goal of the political action committee is to support issues and candidates that are “committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom”.
“From up and down ballot races to critical amendments, we’re steadfast in our mission to keep Florida free,” a DeSantis spokesperson, Taryn Fenske, said.
Reproductive-rights activists have been pushing for voters to support an upcoming ballot initiative that would enshrine broader abortion access in Florida’s constitution, Axios reported.
Since Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect in June, fewer abortions have been performed in the state. Activists have also seen more people seeking care in states on the east coast with broader abortion access.
Amending Florida’s constitution is a difficult task – 60% of voters will have to approve the ballot initiative.
But support for the abortion access measure, known as Amendment 4, has been picking up steam before the November vote.
Supporters of the constitutional amendment have raised more than $12m in two months since the state’s supreme court approved the measure in April, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“Seeing increased financial support for the Yes on 4 effort provides us a glimmer of hope. Regardless of income or background, every Floridian deserves the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions without government interference, including abortion, and we’ll keep up the fight to make that a reality,” the campaign director for Yes on 4 Florida, Lauren Brenzel, said to the Times.
Both amendments appear to be garnering widespread support. Recent polling by Fox News predicted that both amendments would overwhelmingly pass, with 69% of voters supporting the abortion-access initiative and 66% favoring the marijuana-legalization amendment.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
