The Florida Freedom Fund is a leadership political action committee (PAC) associated with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The Florida Freedom Fund promotes and support right-of-center causes and conservative candidates in Florida. ¹ In the 2024 election cycle, the Florida Freedom Fund contributed $5.99 million to the Republican Party of Florida. ²

Activities

In a June 2024 article, Politico reported that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had launched Florida Freedom Fund to target pro-abortion and pro-marijuana ballot initiatives in Florida. The report noted that DeSantis’s chief of staff and former presidential primary campaign manager James Uthmeier would chair the committee. ³

People

James Uthmeier is the chair of the Florida Freedom Fund and chief of staff in the executive office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). ³ Uthmeier formerly worked as a senior advisor and counsel at the Department of Commerce, a law clerk in the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and as a law clerk for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. ⁴

Funding

The Florida Freedom Fund is funded by donations from individuals, other political committees, and businesses. In 2024, the largest donations came from PACs like Keep Florida Clean, Inc. ($1.1 million) and Floridians for Economic Leadership ($1 million), companies like PMI Global Services Inc. ($500,000) and United Again LLC ($350,000), and individuals like Trish Duggan ($1 million), Michael Dearing ($500,000), and Aubrey Edge ($250,000). ⁵

Contributions to Organizations

In the 2024 election cycle, the Florida Freedom Fund contributed $5.99 million to the Republican Party of Florida. ²

1. “Home.” Florida Freedom Fund. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://floridafreedomfund.com/.
2. “Expenditures.” Florida Freedom Fund. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://floridafreedomfund.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Expenditures-3.pdf.
3. Fineout, Gary. “DeSantis’ ‘Freedom Fund’ will target abortion, pot amendments on Florida ballot.” POLITICO, June 10, 2024. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/10/desantis-target-abortion-pot-amendments-florida-ballot-00162567.
4. “James Uthmeier.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 6, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-uthmeier-5669782b/.
5. “Contributions.” Florida Freedom Fund. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://floridafreedomfund.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Contributions-FFF-1.pdf.