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Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis required current members of the University of Florida Board of Trustees to donate $100,000 to his campaign or lose their appointment, according to Nikki Fried, Florida agriculture commissioner and a Democratic candidate for governor. Insider reported the news Wednesday.
At least nine trustees have donated to DeSantis’s 2022 campaign or the Florida GOP.
It’s not unusual for prominent donors to political campaigns to be rewarded with government appointments, Insider reported, but rarely are current appointees directly threatened over re-election contributions.
Fried learned of DeSantis’s demand through a “private conversation,” her campaign told Insider.
DeSantis and the University of Florida did not respond to Insider’s request for comment, but Helen Aguirre Ferré, executive director for the Republican Party of Florida, called Fried’s accusation a “bald-faced lie.”
