Ron DeSantis is the only candidate who even comes close to challenging Donald Trump in the polls for the Republican presidential nomination. No other candidate even gets out of the single digits.
But while DeSantis has made himself a right-wing star by “owning the libs,” far less well known is his actual record as governor and representative — as well as the wealthy corporate interests and political machine behind his rise in Florida politics.
Our political team is traveling to Florida to dig into DeSantis’s record, and we’re not just talking about just the typical “20 minutes in a diner” that too often passes for political reporting. We’re developing sources, following up on leads, and using Florida’s Sunshine Law to uncover documents.
We’ve already made multiple trips to the Sunshine State and uncovered several unsavory scoops. But this kind of on-the-ground investigative reporting isn’t cheap or easy, and as a nonprofit news outlet, we rely on readers to help fund this work.
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The Intercept has already broken a series of stories that the corporate media ignored or missed:
- Intercept D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim uncovered how DeSantis’s political henchmen pursued a political vendetta against two county commissioners who opposed a tax break for DeSantis’s developer friends, going so far as to send one of them to jail.
- Politics reporter Akela Lacy exposed how the DeSantis administration rewarded campaign donors with tens of millions of dollars in state contracts.
- Columnist Natasha Lennard reported on how Florida medical boards stacked with Ron DeSantis appointees are ramping up bans on gender-affirming care for trans kids.
- When DeSantis flew a group of asylum-seekers as part of a made-for-Fox News stunt, The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein revealed that DeSantis paid a campaign donor for the flight with taxpayer dollars.
- Klippenstein’s reporting on DeSantis’s proposed changes to Florida defamation law pushed even major DeSantis donors and Koch groups to back away from the bill, which could chill free speech and journalism.
But we’re not finished. Quite the opposite. And if you value the kind of investigative reporting needed to expose the inconvenient truths that Ron DeSantis would rather keep off the front page, please support the journalism of The Intercept and make a donation today.
