Credit: Getty Images. Courtesy of NC Policy Watch.
The more than $104 million going toward enshrining abortion access in Florida’s Constitution is the largest amount a pro-abortion ballot initiative has raised since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Floridians Protecting Freedom accomplished the feat after raising $14.3 million last week, including its second-largest donation — $9 million from the D.C. nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund — according to the latest campaign finance reports.
“Our momentum continues to grow despite increased government interference in this campaign. While the attacks from the opposition and their ability to spread misinformation to try to confuse voters are appalling, it’s clear that people across Florida are determined to take the government out of their healthcare decisions and will not be fooled by these attacks,” wrote Brice Barnes, national finance director for Yes on 4.
“We are raising the unprecedented and necessary resources to be able to effectively communicate with and mobilize voters so we win on November 5th and end Florida’s extreme abortion ban.”
More than 47,000 donors have contributed, according to Floridians Protecting Freedom.
Other top donations came from D.C. nonprofits, such as the Fairness Project. That nonprofit has contributed to measures in other states to expand Medicaid, increase the minimum wage, and stop predatory payday lending, and has donated more than $16 million to Floridians Protecting Freedom.
The Yes on 4 campaign faces a barrier that other attempts to protect abortion in states’ constitutions haven’t: a 60% approval threshold. The latest polls place the effort at around that margin. Amendment 4 would undo Florida’s restrictions banning abortion beyond six weeks’ gestation in most cases.
Voters in 10 other states will get to decide the fate of access to the procedure too, but none are close to reaching the $100 million mark, according to the OpenSecrets database tracking fundraising for the initiatives.
While the database from the nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks money in politics doesn’t reflect the $100 million yet, the gap between Yes on 4 and other states’ efforts runs to the tens of millions. That means that other state measures are unlikely to catch up to the nine figures raised in Florida. In 2023, Ohio’s successful measure raised $65 million, according to OpenSecrets.
Finances of the counter campaign
Gov. DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Nuñez rail against abortion-rights amendment on first day of early voting
The raising and spending blitz comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis has ramped up his campaign against Amendment 4, touring the state with Florida Physicians Against Amendment 4 earlier this week. The governor has criticized Amendment 4 and the recreational marijuana amendment for their out-of-state fundraising.
“When these things show up on the ballot like this, that are funded by the special interest groups, and both amendments 3 and 4 are that with tens of millions of dollars that have poured in from out of state, your default should be no,” DeSantis said on Tuesday in Jacksonville.
Floridians Protecting Freedom has spent $95.3 million on ads, canvassing, mailers, and other efforts to convince voters from all political beliefs to approve the amendment.
Meanwhile, the Vote No on 4 PAC has raised $3 million, although the latest records available are from Oct. 11. The largest donation to the committee came from the Tallahassee PAC Conservatives for Principled Leadership, which donated $1 million. The Knights of Columbus gave $250,000, the second-largest donation.
DeSantis’ Florida Freedom Fund, which he said he would use to target both Amendment 4 and Amendment 3, has raised $6.3 million.