Are Florida Environmentalists Jeopardizing DeSantis’ Re-Election?

In 2018, Governor Ron DeSantis won a ticket to the Florida Governor’s mansion with the help of a united Republican base as well as environmentally-minded voters. As he looks to do that once again, are Florida environmental groups looking past DeSantis in favor of their golden child, Charlie Crist?

Republican State Representative Mike Giallombardo thinks they might be. In a recent Facebook post, Giallombardo railed against the Col. Kelly Lake Okeechobee plan, which he claims “will without a doubt bring us more blue green algae.”

Who does that hurt? Governor DeSantis. And who would it help? You guessed it: likely Democratic frontrunner Charlie Crist.

The connection between the Everglades Foundation and Charlie Crist is a simple one: the Everglades Foundation is led by former Crist Chief of Staff Eric Eikenberg, who interestingly enough, was at the helm in the Governor’s Office around the time when Charlie famously hugged President Barack Obama. And that was right before Crist left the Republican Party.

As Giallombardo says, “That makes sense to me as why Eikenberg’s Everglades Foundation is pushing for a plan that would be most damaging to where Governor DeSantis’s base is strongest.” He continued… “We cannot allow those that are playing politics with our water to negatively impact the politics of our state.”

Collier County Republican State Committeeman Alfie Oakes agrees. In a statement to Florida’s Conservative Voice, Oakes said “Radical leftists like the Everglades Foundation and Captains for Clean Water are such a scam. It’s no different than what we saw with Black Lives Matter. They trick you into thinking they’re standing up for a good cause and then use their power to attack conservatives. It’s disgraceful”.

If you’ve been paying attention recently, you have every right to be angry. The Colonel Kelly Plan under consideration sends virtually no Lake Okeechobee discharges to Congressman Brian Mast’s district and instead pummels our local waterways with significantly more water.

For that, we have the Everglades Foundations and the groups they fund, like Captains for Clean Water, to thank.