One of the nation’s most well-known left-wing organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), will spend $25 million in eight states, including Florida, in this year’s election cycle.
In Florida, the group says their funding priority is to spend money on promoting the abortion amendment to make sure it’s added to the Florida Constitution. However, the ACLU says they won’t stop there. Florida GOP candidates will also be targeted. ACLU will be involved in Florida’s US Senate race, hoping to pick off incumbent Sen. Rick Scott. ACLU also says they will focus on down-ballot races across the state. Which could include Florida State House and Florida State Senate seats.
“What our team is building at the ACLU in a new way is the ability to go on offense. To not just defend civil rights and civil liberties, but to go out and by shaping our electoral environment by communicating with voters about electing the person who’s going to actually support civil rights and civil liberties,” said Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU’s political officer.
“For years, we (conservatives) have laughed at the ACLU and the views they have espoused. But if you’re a Florida Republican running in a close race where tons of campaign dollars could determine the outcome, yes, I would take them seriously and head-on.”
The amount of $25 million is the most the ACLU has spent in an election season. In 2020 they spent about $16 million.
“We are nonpartisan, so we do not tell voters who to vote for, but we do give them sharp and clear information on candidates records,” Schifeling said.
The ACLU’s spending will go toward direct mail pieces, digital ads, radio ads, door-to-door canvassing, and phone-banking. While the group is officially nonpartisan, 99% of their activity has promoted liberal causes and candidates who agree with their far-left views.
Author
