Florida agency tells newspaper to halt reporting angle on foundation associated with governor's wife
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's child welfare agency sent a letter to a Florida newspaper telling it to 'cease and desist' its reporting on foster families for a story about a nonprofit associated with Gov. Ron DeSantis' wife that is the subject of an investigation.
The Orlando Sentinel received the letter on Friday from the state Department of Children and Families, whose top official is appointed by the governor. The letter claimed that the newspaper's Tallahassee reporter had used threats to coerce foster families into making negative statements about the Hope Florida Foundation when he contacted them about the welfare nonprofit behind the signature initiative of Casey DeSantis, Florida's first lady.
'Cease and desist the above-described intimidation of these families,' the DCF letter said.
Orlando Sentinel Executive Editor Roger Simmons said the agency's characterization of the reporter's conduct was 'completely false.' The yet-to-be-published story was looking into grants distributed by Hope Florida to organizations, families and individuals, according to the Sentinel.
'We stand by our stories and reject the state's attempt to chill free speech and encroach on our First Amendment right to report on an important issue," Simmons said in an email.
DCF on Monday didn't provide an immediate response to an inquiry about the letter. DCF posted the cease-and-desist letter on social media Friday, saying Hope Florida had supported foster families with donations to repair their homes following last year's hurricanes.
The letter is attempting to intimidate the Sentinel from publishing what may be unflattering news about Hope Florida in what is known as prior restraint, and prior restraint efforts typically are unconstitutional, said Clay Calvert, a law professor emeritus at the University of Florida and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
If he were the Sentinel's attorney, Calvert said, he would tell the agency 'to go pound sand.'
'DCF can send all the cease and desist letters it wants, but the Sentinel isn't obligated to follow any of them,' he said. 'This is really trying to silence any negative coverage before it comes out."
Prosecutors in Tallahassee have opened an investigation related to the Hope Florida Foundation. A public records custodian in the office of Second Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jack Campbell confirmed the existence of 'an open, on-going investigation' last month in response to a records request from The Associated Press. The investigation was first reported by the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times.
Republican state lawmakers in DeSantis' own party have been scrutinizing Hope Florida and its nonprofit foundation, which gave $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement to two nonprofits. Those groups in turn gave millions to a political committee, chaired by DeSantis' then-chief of staff, that campaigned against a failed referendum on recreational marijuana.
In April, Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade wrapped up the investigation he had been spearheading into Hope Florida, saying he would leave the rest of the inquiry to 'the FBI and Department of Justice," though there is no public evidence that either is doing so. Andrade has alleged that the flow of funds from the foundation to the nonprofits and on to the political committees amounts to 'conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.'
The governor has dismissed the investigation of Hope Florida as a politically motivated smear against his wife, whom he's floated as his potential successor when he terms out in 2026.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New Jersey governor primary results in Republican and Democratic races
The polls close at 8 p.m. on June 10 primary day in New Jersey as voters went to the polls to select a candidate to represent the Democratic and Republican parties in the fall gubernatorial election. On the Republican side, the candidates are state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Assemblyman and previous Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, and former radio personality Bill Spadea. Two other Republican candidates, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac and Justin Barbera, are also on the June 10 primary ballot but did not qualify to participate in spring debates. The Democratic candidates are Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, NJSEA President and former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney. Voting has been underway since mail-in ballots were sent out in April. Early in-person voting was held from June 3 through June is a look at the unofficial totals from the 21 county board of election websites. The vote totals reflect the data that was current as of the latest time stamp on this story and may not include early voting and vote-by-mail totals. Check back as the vote totals will be updated This article originally appeared on New Jersey governor primary results in Republican and Democratic races


Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
New Jersey's long, expensive primary turns to counting votes
Polls have closed in the crowded and hotly contested primary for New Jersey governor. Six Democrats and five Republicans are running to replace the term-limited Democrat Phil Murphy in an election marked by personal vitriol and dominated on both sides by President Donald Trump. No matter who wins, it's a historic election. It is the most expensive, with more than $120 million spent over two years of campaigning, and the first in generations without a ballot design that gave party bosses extraordinary influence. It sets up a general election that will be watched nationally as a test of Trump's appeal in a traditionally blue state that he lost by a closer-than-expected six points last year. Only one other state, Virginia, has a gubernatorial election this year, so both states' outcomes in November will also be read for clues into next year's midterms. In New Jersey, the primary results will be analyzed to see how traditional Democratic machines perform without the 'county line' — a structure used for decades by party leaders that gave the candidates they endorsed favorable placement on the primary ballot. That follows a judge's 2024 decision to toss the line in the Democratic primary and a new law mandating office block ballots for both parties, similar to those used in every other state. Among the Democrats, Rep. Mikie Sherrill has long been the front-runner, but not the prohibitive one. With the backing of many but not all of New Jersey's county leaders, the four-term former Navy helicopter pilot and former federal prosecutor has found herself her opponents' top target for allying with power brokers in Democratic-rich counties in North and Central Jersey. But Sherrill projected herself as the top general election candidate early, using the last few weeks of the primary to reinforce Republican front-runner Jack Ciattarelli's association with Trump and touting legislation she introduced in April to require Elon Musk and top DOGE staff to take drug tests. 'MAGA's coming for New Jersey, with Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli. We've gotta stop them,' says a recent Sherrill ad. Sherrill has faced the most caustic criticism from rival Steven Fulop, the longtime mayor of Jersey City who eschewed the political bosses he once courted and has run to Sherrill's left with aggressive and detailed policy plans, including support for the type of suburban residential development that has proven a liability for Democrats in general elections. He's called her 'Tammy 2.0,' referring to First Lady Tammy Murphy's dropped bid for U.S. Senator last year that stirred resentment in the party base, and criticized her for refusing to 'take any position that is risky.' Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, is also running to Sherrill's left and has appealed to Democrats by aggressively challenging the Trump administration, resulting in his widely-condemned trespassing arrest at a Newark ICE facility last month. The arrest gave him massive publicity, but does not appear to have propelled him to the front of the field, while his fundraising lags his rivals. Former Senate President Steve Sweeney and Rep. Josh Gottheimer have run more moderate campaigns, with Sweeney voting to repeal New Jersey's policy that limits local law enforcement's cooperation with immigration authorities and Gottheimer pledging to cut property taxes by 15 percent. Meanwhile, Sean Spiller, the former mayor of Montclair and president of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association, has run a campaign with progressive messaging fueled almost exclusively by a super PAC funded with $40 million from his union, making it by far the most expensive of any candidate's effort. The size of the field and their extensive resources has led to the most expensive and least predictable statewide primary in decades. And that's largely because of progressives' successful challenge of the county line last year. While this is the second Democratic primary not to feature it (and the first Republican one), the 2024 U.S. Senate primary was over before a judge barred the line since Murphy dropped out and effectively handed the party nomination to Andy Kim While Sherrrill has had a lead in the few public polls released in the race and every leaked internal campaign poll, it's rarely been in the double digits. With six candidates, it's possible a Democratic candidate could win with just 20 percent of the vote. The Republican primary is nothing like the Democratic one. The two main candidates, Bill Spadea and Ciattarelli — who was the Republican nominee in 2021 and came within 3 points of ousting Phil Murphy — spent most of it competing as much for an endorsement of Trump as they did appealing to the state's 1.6 million registered Republicans. Spadea, who has long aired anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and cast doubt on the results of the 2020 election, appeared to be in the running for Trump's endorsement. Ciattarelli had in 2015 called Trump a 'charlatan' and, while he gradually warmed to him, largely sought to avoid association with him in his 2021 campaign. But Ciattarelli recently expressed unbridled support for Trump, while his allies dug through thousands of hours of Spadea's programs to find Trump criticism. They also highlighted fundraising and poll results that showed Ciattarelli way ahead. It culminated with an ebullient Ciattarelli getting a photo op sit down with Trump at his golf club in Bedminster. Not to be outdone, Spadea showed up the next day and met with Trump in the golf club's hallway, but did not post a photo of the encounter. It paid off for Ciattarelli with a Trump endorsement, writing on Truth Social that 'Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!)' Spadea sought to reassure disappointed supporters by saying Trump 'endorsed a poll, not a plan' in Ciattarelli. But most political observers counted that as the end of the Republican primary, and subsequent events showed it. Spadea has struggled in fundraising, earning only about half of the matching funds he was eligible for from the state. New Jersey's off-year general election in November — along with Virginia — will be read as a bellwether for the 2026 midterms. While Democrats have an 800,000 registered voter advantage over Republicans, New Jersey voters have often been willing to elect Republicans as governor. And the GOP in recent years has gained more than 100,000 voters, while Trump's relatively close loss in the state in 2024 has given Republicans hope of taking the governorship. The election saw well over $120 million poured into it from the candidates themselves, state-financed matching funds that most of them took, and, most of all, super PACs. It's only set to intensify in November, when the field will be less crowded but the stakes higher.


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Mikie Sherrill wins Democratic primary in New Jersey governor's race
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) has won the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey, coming out on top of a crowded field, according to Decision Desk HQ. Sherrill defeated five other major candidates for the nomination in a hotly contested primary to succeed two-term Gov. Phil Murphy (D), who is term limited. She entered the primary on Tuesday as the favorite given her polling lead that she's maintained in public and internal polls, including those from other candidates' campaigns. She also had the backing of most of the county parties in North Jersey, home to most of the state's population. County endorsements aren't quite as influential as they used to be with the state's 'county line' ballot system no longer in use, but they still carry some weight. The primary was an early test of political power in New Jersey without the county line, which a federal judge struck down last year on the grounds that it gave county-endorsed candidates favorable positioning on the ballot. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop had railed against the county line and sat out county nominating conventions as he sought to advance a grassroots, outsider campaign. Sherrill will face Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who was also the 2021 GOP nominee, in the general election. Fulop was hoping to tap into antiestablishment sentiment seen in the state last year with the line going away and Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) managing to hold off New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy in the Democratic primary for Senate, running a similar grassroots campaign. As part of his wider efforts to reshape the state's politics, he backed a range of progressive candidates for state Assembly, including some incumbents and some primary challengers. He laid out extensive policy proposals and slammed Sherrill, accusing her positions of being vague and too moderate. But Fulop ultimately fell short to Sherrill, a fourth-term House member. Despite Sherrill's polling advantage, multiple candidates seemed like they could pull off an upset win. Most of the candidates in the race placed second in at least one poll and had paths to victory in what was expected to be a divided primary electorate. The candidates all brought extensive resumes and agreed on many issues, pushing to lower the cost of living, increase affordable housing and invest in renewable energy and education. But they tried to stand out in various ways to gain the advantage. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka ran as a progressive and received widespread attention for his arrest at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility last month while he was trying to observe conditions there. The charges against him were eventually dropped. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) focused much of his campaign on vows to lower costs and taxes in what is one of the most expensive states to live in the country. New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller touted his support from teachers, having led the large teachers union for a few years. Former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, the only candidate from South Jersey, emphasized his longtime experience in state politics and his institutional knowledge to get things done. Sherrill focused on her 'affordability agenda,' calling for incentives for developing new housing, streamlining the approval process for energy projects and expanding tax credits. She will face a challenge from Ciattarelli as he hopes to build on his narrow loss four years ago. He surprised many by only losing by 3 points to Murphy, and Republicans made significant improvements in the 2024 election in November in the Garden State. But Sherrill will start out as the favorite in the still left-leaning state. A trend that may benefit her is that New Jersey has elected a governor from the opposite party of the president in each election for decades except 2021. If elected, Sherrill would be New Jersey's second female governor.