Florida Democratic Party Targets Big Tech Spending in State Legislative Races

The Florida Democratic Party is calling out what it describes as a coordinated effort by tech billionaire Scott Banister to defeat Democratic state legislative candidates through a newly formed political committee. According to a statement released Tuesday, First Amendment LLC — funded entirely by Banister, a PayPal co-founder and major investor in artificial intelligence companies and data center infrastructure — plans to spend more than half a million dollars opposing Democrats in Florida's state races.

Democratic leaders framed the spending as retaliation against their opposition to large-scale AI data centers and surveillance technology expansion in Florida. Party Chair Nikki Fried characterized the effort as part of a larger Republican strategy to allow tech companies to build data centers across the state without adequate public input or oversight. "Florida Republicans are handing our neighborhoods over to Big Tech for massive data centers and turning our streets into a Flock-powered surveillance state," Fried said in the statement.

Democratic lawmakers including Senate leader-designate Tracie Davis and House leader-designate Christine Hunschofsky pledged to maintain their opposition to data center development without stricter environmental and utility rate protections. Senator Brian Nathan specifically called for a moratorium on new data center projects, citing concerns about pollution, rising utility costs, and community impact.

The political spending represents an escalation in a debate that has increasingly divided Florida lawmakers over how aggressively the state should pursue data center and AI infrastructure investment. The Democratic Party's statement suggests the issue will be a significant point of contention in the coming legislative elections.