In uphill fight to defeat abortion, marijuana measures, DeSantis throws around bold claims

With polls showing ballot measures restoring abortion rights in Florida and legalizing recreational marijuana supported by most voters, Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing an uphill fight in his campaign to defeat them this fall.  

The Republican governor has just a trickle of the torrent of money he’s looking to raise for his Florida Freedom Fund, a political committee he intends to weaponize against the proposals, which defy the hard right direction in which he’s moved the state. 

But until more money arrives, DeSantis is mostly on his own. 

In a not-so-subtle strategy intended to sow doubt among voters, DeSantis has been throwing around bold claims about what the measures will do. 

DeSantis casts dystopian view of future with amendments

The governor repeatedly has warned that Florida will reek of marijuana, and in Tampa last month tossed out the idea that people will be able to bring 20 marijuana joints to elementary schools if Amendment 3 is approved by voters.  

“Even if you have no interest in marijuana, marijuana will have an interest in you,” DeSantis said. 

On Amendment 4, instead of the measure’s goal of restoring Florida abortion laws to where they were for almost 50 years, the measure is “deceptive” and “very, very extreme,” DeSantis has said. 

In the latest attack, opponents are claiming Florida’s constitutional amendment protecting pregnant pigs, approved by voters 24 years ago, is more clearly defined than the ballot proposal intended to return abortion access up to about 24 weeks of pregnancy, not the six-week limit signed into law by DeSantis. 

With both proposed constitutional amendments needing approval from at least 60% of voters to become law, DeSantis doesn’t have to convince a majority to vote ‘no.’  

Instead, convincing just a critical 40% of voters to reject the amendments will spell victory for the Republican governor, who along with restricting abortion also has drawn the line at allowing the public access only to medical marijuana in the state. 

Voters like them, polls show

But a Fox News poll last month showed 69% support the abortion rights measure, and 66% are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. If DeSantis can’t turn those numbers around and get voters to side with him, it will prove an significant setback heading into his final two years as governor. 

During bill signings and other recent official stops, DeSantis has gone off topic to run down the proposals.  

“The governor’s effort is all about persuasion, stopping at nothing. This is how Madison Avenue works,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political scientist at the University of Central Florida who’s monitored Florida ballot amendments for the past three decades. 

“You don’t have to persuade everybody. But there are plenty of people who haven’t really made up their minds. They don’t follow politics. And if (DeSantis) says something enough times, maybe they’ll listen to him,” he said. 

His Freedom Fund, launched last month, has raised only $121,400 through the end of June, $100,000 of it coming from a Central Florida company, POB Ventures, which grows hemp and is a CBD-dispensary company. It may be an early sign of an alliance between DeSantis and the hemp industry to defeat Amendment 4.

Pat O’Brien, the company’s authorized representative in documents filed with the state, did not immediately return phone calls or texts with questions about the contribution. 

But the hemp industry, through its association, Florida Healthy Alternatives, has said it will help the Florida Republican Party raise funds to fight the marijuana measure.

Both Florida GOP Chair Evan Power and the party's executive director, Bill Helmich, are registered as lobbyists for Florida Healthy Alternatives.

DeSantis fund-raising is slow but both sides expect spike

The governor’s allies and those promoting the ballot measures say they expect DeSantis to raise enough cash to mount a vigorous opposition campaign by the time voters become more engaged in the fall. 

The Florida Republican Party also has come out against the abortion measure, a move sure to help the governor in dollars and messaging.

Meanwhile, Amendments 3 and 4 have massive volumes of cash for their own voter persuasion.  

The abortion rights Amendment 4, had about $15.6 million on hand last month. Amendment 3 had $13.1 million, powered by Quincy-based Trulieve, the medical marijuana company that contributed most of the $60 million raised so far, with much of that spent on the petition campaign that positioned it for the ballot. 

Organizers of the amendment campaigns point to the popularity of the measures, not the vast amount of money that will help drive their message to Floridians. But as proof of their robust finances, Amendment 3 has already begun airing TV spots. 

More:John Morgan, Florida's 'Pot Daddy,' now the voice of recreational marijuana ad campaign

Although still early for massive media blitzes, both sides in the two ballot fights are likely to prove a steady presence on TV and social media platforms by fall. 

“The governor shouldn’t take for granted Florida voters, including the 57% in his own party who are supportive of Amendment 3,” said Morgan Hill, spokeswoman for Smart & Safe Florida, citing findings of the recent Fox News poll. 

“They know better than to believe these scare tactics that haven’t been a problem in more than half the country that has already legalized recreational use,” she added. 

'Scare tactics' intended to spook voters

Natasha Sutherland, with the Yes on 4 campaign, also said that the governor’s “mistruths and disinformation” will be countered by proponents. 

“His approach indicates that he knows that Floridians are with us on this issue, and he’s really grasping at straws,” Sutherland said. 

Although 84,000 abortions were performed last year in Florida, among the highest totals in the nation, Florida’s six-week law just took effect May 1. Many voters remain unaware of the state’s status, Sutherland said. 

Education will be key for the Yes on 4, she added – especially with DeSantis on course to blur the initiative. 

“It’s about getting people to understand what the situation in Florida is and that in November, they have a choice,” she said. “That’s really the core of our message – educating people on their options.” 

Familiar themes raised against Amendment 4

The Vote No on 4 campaign has drawn support from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops and is centering its fight on familiar themes, concluding that it misleads voters.  

Many of the questions opponents raise reflect arguments made before the state Supreme Court by lawyers with Attorney General Ashley Moody, who allied with DeSantis and urged justices to bar the abortion proposal from the ballot. 

How DeSantis created red Florida:How Florida turned red: Changing population, weak opposition, aggressive governor

Instead, a 4-3 majority of justices dismissed the state’s arguments, agreeing that voters should have a chance to decide the issue. 

In a digital ad unveiled earlier this month, opponents renewed arguments that fetal “viability” is not defined in the amendment, that it fails to define “patients’ health” when allowing a rare, later-term abortion, and doesn’t define “healthcare provider” raising the specter of clinic staff running amok. 

“Our campaign is focused on informing all Floridians that Amendment 4 is deceptive and dangerous, giving broad abortion approval rights to non-doctor clinical staff, allowing abortions for minors without parental consent and not only legalizing abortion during the first six months, but the entire pregnancy,” said Taryn Fenske, a spokeswoman for opponents. 

DeSantis has appointed five of the currently conservative seven-member court. But three of his appointees formed the losing minority that wanted to keep the proposed amendment off the ballot. 

With the fall campaigns slowly heating up, the governor now faces a rare disadvantage in fund-raising.  

An alliance brewing?

The meager bottom line of the Florida Freedom Fund prompted intrigue when the governor last month sided with the state’s hemp industry in vetoing a bill many thought could put them out of business. 

Some analysts viewed the veto as part of a pitch by DeSantis to get an ally in his fight against recreational marijuana, bringing the hemp industry in as a potential funder. POB Ventures' contribution fuels speculation.

“I’ve seen comments from some hemp people saying that we need to help DeSantis on this,” said Adam Terry, chief executive officer of Cantrip Seltzer, a THC-infused beverage company. “But hemp people are pretty libertarian and don’t tend to oppose marijuana.” 

Terry acknowledged, though, that it’s still possible hemp interests could ally with DeSantis against what may be a common enemy. 

“If marijuana is generally legal and available around Florida after this amendment, it’s hard to believe that the hemp industry is going to compete effectively,” he added. 

John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @JKennedyReport.