One of Florida’s most powerful special interests is pouring some sugar on Attorney General James Uthmeier.

State campaign finance records show that U.S. Sugar has donated $50,000 to Uthmeier’s “Friends of James Uthmeier” political action committee twice so far this year: Once on Jan. 12, and again on May 1. The $100,000 is part of Uthmeier’s massive $9 million-plus war chest as the Republican incumbent squares off against Democratic challenger (and VoteWater-endorsed) Jose Javier Rodriguez this fall.

Rodriguez doesn’t take sugar money; Uthmeier apparently can’t get enough. And that has huge implications, given that the Attorney General may need to weigh in on regulatory issues involving the industry. In addition, as a member of the Florida Cabinet, the AG would weigh in on state land acquisition for Everglades restoration or other purposes.

Big Sugar’s” historic pollution of the Everglades has been well-documented and U.S. Sugar, along with Florida Crystals, owns much of the land in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee – including the 8,600-acre parcel where the proposed Southland rock mine may be built.

Rodriguez has a track record of Everglades advocacy, and as a state legislator received “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Defender of the Everglades” award from our friends at Friends of the Everglades.

Uthmeier put an immigration detention center in the Everglades. So it’s pretty clear where his sympathies lie.

With these campaign contributions, Big Sugar is simply doing what it does: cultivating influence. Having the Attorney General in your pocket is a pretty good way for the industry to get what the industry wants.