TALLAHASSEE, FL—Amid a Florida Supreme Court case alleging he's "interfering" in the election for an abortion amendment, Gov. Ron DeSantis called for all Republican leaders to donate to defeat the "deceptive and extreme" measure, which will be on the November ballot.
The Governor's ask, posted to social media Friday afternoon, was a response to Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia's announcement that he had pledged $25,000 to defeat Amendment 4, a ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion access until fetal viability in the state constitution.
"Thank you, [Sen. Ingoglia], for stepping up for Florida and standing up to the deceptive and extreme Amendment 4 with your investment," DeSantis posted on X. "Every Republican leader throughout the state should do the same!"
The conversation surrounding Amendment 4 has been a heated one, rife with allegations of fraud, two lawsuits, and conservative infighting—all in the past week. On Tuesday, Lake Worth attorney Adam Richardson filed a case against DeSantis in the state Supreme Court for using his "official authority...for the purpose of interfering with the election for Amendment 4."
Richardson referenced a faith meeting that the Governor will host next week, where he and faith leaders will discuss "Your Legal Rights and Amendment 4's Ramifications," as well as a Florida statute banning state officers from engaging in political campaigns while on duty and from using their authority to sway elections. He asked that the Court take up the case before the Amendment 4 election on Nov. 5.
While the Court agreed to fast-track the case, they have yet to decide whether they will issue DeSantis a writ of quo warranto and mandamus asking him to do his job, as Richardson has petitioned.
"Elected officials have a constitutional right to make their voices heard: it's called the First Amendment," Ingoglia told The Floridian when asked about the case against DeSantis, stressing that Richardson's petition holds no water. "There is nothing in Florida statute precluding that."
He referenced Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani, who has been a vocal advocate in favor of Amendment 4's passage, questioning, "Is she using her own political office to influence an election? No, we have a constitutional right."
As the fears that the Governor is abusing his authority to take down the amendment rage on the left, DeSantis has actively rallied fellow conservatives to vote "no" on the fast-approaching amendment—going so far as to call out congressional Republicans, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who have yet to announce their position on the measure or donate to its demise.
Luna is the sole Florida Republican to refuse to say how she'll vote on Amendment 4, a situation that DeSantis called "untenable" at the Republican Party of Florida's Victory Dinner fundraiser last week.
"To just sit here and let George Soros run amendments in our state and not be willing to stand up and say no, not on our watch? That's the least you can do as Republicans," DeSantis said.
Floridians Protecting Freedom, the largest committee behind Amendment 4—and the ones who drew up the petitions to get it on the November ballot in the first place—have raised over $48 million since the state's six-week abortion ban passed the Legislature. The Florida Freedom Fund, DeSantis' PAC targeting both the abortion amendment and a recreational marijuana amendment, has raised just over $3.6 million since its creation in May, soon after the amendments were greenlit to go on the ballot.
If the abortion amendment receives 60% of voter approval on Nov. 5, it will become part of the state's constitution.
