Dive Brief:
- Florida's biggest utilities are giving millions to the Republican party and Gov. Rick Scott's reelection campaign, hoping to avoid a second round of clean energy policies from former Gov. Charlie Crist.
- Crist was Florida governor from 2007 to 2011 and was known in the industry for his environmentally-friendly policies.
- The Florida election is tight, with Scott appearing to carry a slim advantage going into the final two months of the campaign.
Dive Insight:
You never know for sure just what kinds of policies a newly-elected official will back. But in Florida, utilities are betting they have a pretty good idea.
The Democratic challenger to Governor Rick Scott is former Governor Charlie Crist, who led the state (as a Republican) from 2007 to 2011. During that time, Crist failed to make a lot of friends in the utility industry. Crist hosted a climate change summit and focused on cleaner energy in his term as the state's governor. Though he has not publicized an energy policy should he take back the governorship, the state's energy companies are not taking any chances.
According to Reuters, Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy each donated $1.2 million to a combination of Scott's political action committee and the Republican Party of Florida, while TECO gave $1.15 million to the GOP.
