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The president of the Democratic Party of FloridaNikki Fried, filed ethics complaints against staff at the Republican governor’s office Ron DeSantis for allegedly soliciting campaign contributions from lobbyists and legislators for his presidential election campaign in the 2024 election.
“These allegations represent a serious violation of state laws and ethics and we cannot in good conscience ignore them,” Fried said in a statement on Wednesday. “If true, they are yet another example of Ron abusing his public office for personal gain. Public servants are employed to serve the people of Florida, not to line Ron’s pockets.”
Complaints filed by Fried, on behalf of the Florida Democratic Party, They are for “abuse of power” and are directed against Governor DeSantis’ executive staff, Chief of Staff James Uthmeier, Director of Legislative Affairs Stephanie Kopelousos, and Director of Policy and Budget Chris Spencer.
The statement states that “The people of Florida deserve prompt and fair rulings from both commissions.”
Fried said he bases these allegations on complaints published by NBC News and the Sarasota Herald Tribune, which infer that the governor held the state budget “hostage” “in exchange for political endorsements and donations” and that such actions are “both unethical and illegal.”
In the opinion of the Democratic leader, this “corrupt scheme to generate false support for his failed presidential campaign is both a great threat to our democracy and a sad look into the psyche of a man whose ambitions have led him and his sycophants to a criminal life.”
DeSantis, who in 2022 was re-elected for a second term as governor, appears in second place in the vote intention polls for the Republican primaries, behind former President Donald Trump, who is the clear favorite and does not miss an opportunity to attack against his former follower.
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