Big Sugar

The PAC-to-PAC shell game: How a dollar bill gets from Big Sugar to your legislator

August 3, 2026

Most people assume political giving is simple: a polluting industry gives money to politicians who can help it get what it wants. But often, industry donors avoid giving directly to a campaign and instead give to a politician’s PAC (political…

Big Sugar is sweet on Uthmeier

July 23, 2026

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:…

WHO FUNDS THEM: Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier

April 30, 2026

If you want an Attorney General dedicated to serving polluting industries and other special interests, James Uthmeier is your man. The state’s top law enforcement officer — the official charged with protecting Floridians from corporate wrongdoing — has never been…

As Caloosahatchee begs for water, Big Sugar says: We got dibs

February 19, 2026

Most of Florida is in the grip of a worsening drought, and the consequences are mounting. In the greater Everglades region, nowhere is this more apparent than along the Caloosahatchee River, where low flows from Lake Okeechobee — an average…

Florida agriculture bills could help Big Sugar intimidate critics

January 8, 2026

Look, you know how the game is played. Special interests call the tune, your legislators dance; they file bills written by and for deep-pocketed donors. And as you’ve heard us say so many times over the years, few donors have…

2025 Impact Report: How your support helped VoteWater make a difference

December 2, 2025

It’s been quite a year. It began with the battle over the future of Florida’s state parks and Big Sugar’s proposed rock mine in the Everglades Agricultural Area. It concludes, now, with a new EPA proposal to eliminate crucial wetlands…

Sugar billionaire, other top donors fund WH renovations for one simple reason

November 6, 2025

And that one reason is because they’re sucking up to power. Last week we reported that J. Pepe Fanjul, part of the powerful family behind Florida Crystals Corp., was among the donors who contributed to the teardown of the White…

Guess who helped fund White House East Wing ‘remodeling?’

October 30, 2025

President Donald Trump’s decision to tear down the White House’s East Wing and build a huge ballroom has been hugely controversial; but in fact the President had some help in the form of donors contributing to the cause. And take…

Dirty Money: Big Sugar campaign cash nears $2.5 million in 2025

October 16, 2025

Statewide elections are still a year away — but Florida’s sugar industry continues to spend like there’s no tomorrow. The latest state campaign finance data shows that Big Sugar has given at least $2.48 million in “dirty money” — political…

Big Sugar spent more than $600k on state lobbying in Q2

September 5, 2025

Big Sugar continues to spend big on lobbying, according to state data. In the second quarter of 2025, the industry reported that at least 55 individual lobbyists from 25 different firms were registered to lobby on their behalf. Those lobbyists collected…

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