Tech Giants Target Spending On Florida’s State-level Elections

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida policymakers have aggressively pushed to regulate Big Tech companies.

Now, major corporations like Google, Meta, Amazon and Anthropic are spending in key state legislative races to fight for a seat at the table.

Tech firms are donating to Democrats and Republican candidates alike, buying scores of mailers and ads on top of making campaign contributions in the upcoming November midterms races. They’re also funneling tens of thousands of dollars — a meager sum compared to statewide races, but notable at the statehouse level — through a dizzying network of political committees that support Republican leaders in the state Legislature and lawmakers who had a hand in artificial intelligence legislation last session.

The moves could help give companies influence with state lawmakers amid a campaign cycle shaped by how Florida will respond to rapidly changing technology, with regulations likely on the agenda again in 2027. The contributions, some of which have not been previously reported, also provide a deeper look at where Big Tech’s priorities lie ahead of the first major election since AI and data center issues took center stage in Tallahassee.

“The strategy is really, especially for Meta and Google, to buy a foot in the door — it doesn’t matter what party,” said Marjorie Connolly, vice president of communications for Tech Oversight Project, a watchdog group.

Big Tech’s favorite candidates

Data center and AI industry donors are flowing millions of dollars toward GOP Rep. Byron Donalds in the competitive governor’s race, including multimillion-dollar ad buys from Big Tech-backed PACs. Yet while the governor’s race has been a magnet for fundraising attention, millions of dollars from the industries have also poured into state House and Senate races.

Top recipients of the cash include the Republican Party of Florida, top Republican state lawmakers, and House and Senate GOP campaign committees, which funnel money to Republican lawmakers across the state.

Political committees for state Reps. Jennifer Canady and Mike Redondo, who are in line to be the next two House speakers, have received at least $135,000 combined from Google, Amazon, Anthropic, Meta and Microsoft this election cycle. Meta has also paid for research and funded campaign advertisements on Redondo’s behalf.

Incoming state Senate President Jim Boyd has received $25,000 from Meta, while his potential successor, state Sen. Jay Trumbull, received at least $60,000 from Meta and Anthropic through a political committee.

But tech companies and their political arms also are making strategic and targeted donations to lawmakers who shaped policies like the proposed AI “bill of rights” legislation that faltered at the statehouse and a new law that regulates hyperscale data centers.

Google, for instance, spent at least $985,000 in Florida this election cycle, notably sending donations to the political committee of GOP state Sen. Tom Leek, who earlier this year sponsored AI regulations sought by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and GOP state Sen. Erin Grall, who influenced the legislation yet was the lone senator to vote against it.

The tech giant, which is developing and expanding its AI capability, also donated to state Rep. Mike Giallombardo, who sits on House committees that heard the data center bill and would have heard the AI “bill of rights” last session. During one of the data center bill’s committee stops, Giallombardo voted against it after a provision was added that would have prohibited local governments from entering into nondisclosure agreements with data center developers.

Google has steered most of its donations — including a $500,000 contribution earlier this month — into a PAC for the Associated Industries of Florida, which represents major corporations like Disney, Amazon and Uber. AIF, which did not respond to a request for comment, is sending money to scores of Republicans including Donalds, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and state Attorney General James Uthmeier, who is one of Florida’s staunchest AI critics.

Google, Meta and Microsoft declined to comment for this report. Oracle and Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

Officials with Anthropic, which donated $115,000 to Florida candidates this cycle, said in a statement that the company “supports policymakers and organizations across the political spectrum who champion AI safety and sensible industry guardrails.”

Developers behind controversial data center proposals in Florida have also donated more than $2 million this election cycle, with Donalds getting the biggest individual share. The developers, including those who proposed the Project Tango data center in Palm Beach County, the Stonebridge data center in Fort Meade and Project Silver Fox in Indiantown, have donated hundreds of thousands to the GOP state Senate campaign and the Associated Industries of Florida, and poured money into political committees supporting Trumbull, Leek and Canady.

Behind industry buy-in

In Florida, both parties are critical of AI and data centers. On the Democratic side, gubernatorial candidate David Jolly is bashing his GOP opponent as “Data Center Donalds,” while Senate candidate Angie Nixon held a town hall in Fort Meade, where there’s a groundswell of local opposition to a proposed data center. Donalds, meanwhile, is pledging to push the state Legislature to consider AI consumer protections, while GOP Sen. Ashley Moody last month cosponsored legislation meant to shield ratepayers from cost increases triggered by new data centers.

While state Republicans are raking in the most money from large tech companies, Democrats are also receiving midterms help from the industry. Oracle donated $10,000 each to the Florida Republican and Democratic Party, while Amazon gave $40,000 total to the state Democratic Party and its campaign committee.

And it’s not just Florida getting hit by waves of Big Tech donations this election cycle.

With federal AI regulations stalled in Washington, companies are turning their attention — and checkbooks — to state lawmakers, who are eager to take action on tech themselves, said Connolly.

This marks a shift in strategy for tech firms, who aren’t trying to swing elections but instead make friends in legislatures across the country, Connolly said. And they can throw around more money than anyone else, she added.

Meta, Anthropic and Leading the Future, a super PAC supported by billionaires including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, are among those putting out campaign ads for scores of candidates in states including Illinois, New Jersey and especially California, which has been at the forefront of AI laws.

In some cases, such as with Meta’s spending, ads are sponsored by nondescript committees and make no mention of AI or tech legislation. One Meta outfit, Making Our Tomorrow, spent $210,000 on ads and mailers on behalf of former Democratic state Rep. Fentrice Driskell, who doesn’t have a GOP opponent in November and is set to head to the state Senate after winning her August primary. Driskell did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but told the Tampa Bay Times in August she did not know the money was coming.

Another Meta PAC, Forge the Future Project, spent more than $100,000 on digital ads, texting, mailers and data supporting Redondo, who House members tabbed to be speaker after the 2030 elections, with one commercial backing him for stopping government overreach and cutting property taxes, as seen in theAI super PACs ad library operated by the Tech Oversight Project.

This is by design, Connolly said, so companies can show support without drawing attention from voters increasingly critical of AI, which “could be an anvil around a candidate’s neck” in this political climate.

“These companies realize that they’re behind the 8-ball on educating legislators and messaging to the public,” said one Florida lobbyist who represents tech firms, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “They’ve lost the PR war because they really weren’t expecting the public backlash they’ve received.”

At a press conference this month, Democratic Lt. Gov. nominee Gwen Graham slammed Donalds for the donations he’s received from the data center industry. When asked whether she was concerned about state Democrats also receiving tech money, Graham responded that “we are running our race.”

“We’re committed to what we have done in this campaign,” she said. “Our allegiance is to the people of Florida, not to anyone who gave us a political donation.”

Regardless of whether Donalds or Jolly end up in the governor’s mansion, it’s likely the Florida Legislature will consider new tech regulations during the 2027 session.

House leadership, which this year acted as a firewall for a White House leery of state-level AI legislation, is still holding out hope that the federal government will take lead on the issue. But at the same time, Florida is ready to pick up the mantle if Congress fails to deliver, said incoming House Speaker Sam Garrison.

“If we look back 100 years from now, the defining issue of our time is going to be how we handle AI, and we're going to be very diligent and thorough in how we approach it this year,” Garrison said.

To that end, Garrison said he wasn’t shocked to see the tech industry aggressively lobbying in Florida, which has been one of the more active states in pursuing guardrails for social media and AI.

“If you just look nationally at what's going on, I think the position of some of the tech companies, as it relates to state versus federal regulation, is evolving. And I'm not surprised they care about what Florida does,” Garrison said. “I know they care about Florida, Texas, California, those are the states, as far as I'm concerned, that chart the course for the nation in very different philosophies.”

Meanwhile, a mysterious group that has historically opposed Big Tech has also spent big on this year’s election. Propel Florida LLC, which has previously lobbied for data privacy protections, contributed $5 million to current Lt. Jay Collins’ political committee during his failed bid for governor. Additionally, the group gave $765,000 to the “Citizens for Principled Leadership” PAC, which has poured money into political committees supporting House and Senate GOP campaign committees as well as candidates like Uthmeier, Leek, Redondo and Canady.

Neither Propel Florida’s political director nor the chair of the PAC responded to a request for comment.

Gary Fineout contributed to this report.