Publix[1] isn’t the only iconic Florida brand supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam — who has drawn criticism for proclaiming himself a “proud NRA[2] sellout.”
Other big-name interests, including Walt Disney Co.[3], have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Putnam’s campaign coffers, according to an analysis of campaign finance reports by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Publix faced a public relations nightmare with Parkland students calling for a boycott and staging die-ins[4] because of the Lakeland-based grocer’s backing of a gun-friendly candidate for governor.
That pressure spurred Publix to place a moratorium on political giving.
Since 2015, Walt Disney Co. and its affiliates have contributed at least $824,442 to Putnam’s political action committee, Florida Grown[5], and to his campaign account, according to the latest filings. That’s more than the $736,000 Publix, and people affiliated with the company, contributed during the same time span.Other powerful interests have supported Putnam. Florida Power & Light[6] — the state’s largest utility provider — gave $587,060 and U.S. Sugar Corp. contributed $560,000.But so far, Disney and Putnam’s other top contributors have escaped the consumer backlash directed at Publix.Ladd Everitt, director of One Pulse for America, said his group launched a campaign on April 17 targeting Disney for its support of Putnam. So far, 170 people have contacted Disney asking the company to re-evaluate its support. A Disney spokeswoman said Wednesday she is checking the company’s stance on the group’s request. One Pulse for America — which seeks to address gun violence — formed after the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people.But the group’s campaign hasn’t
