Money politics has long dominated American politics, but the scale of the problem has gotten much worse since the Supreme Court made its infamous 2010 ruling popularly known as Citizens United. In the latest news on this front, for allegedly bankrolling a phony candidate for a legislative seat, a former state senator is facing felony charges. Ciara Torres-Spelliscy had this story in Brennan Center for Justice:

As Thomas Paine wrote in The Crisis, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” American politics are roiling with everything from an insurrection at the Capitol to a feverish attempt to make voting more difficult for American citizens in a majority of states. And yet Florida still takes the cake.

Florida continues to distinguish itself with some of the strangest political scandals. The influence that Florida sugar companies have on state politics have inspired both a novel and movie. As I have pointed out, in real life that sugar money has gone national and was poured into a super PAC that funded the failed Trump reelection campaign. Florida is also home to one of the worst judicial political scandals in history, forcing justices of the Florida Supreme Court to resign over bribery involving dog racing.

Not content with that history of ignominy, Florida is basking in new political sleaze. On March 18, ex-State Sen. Frank Artiles was arrested in Miami for his alleged role in bankrolling at least one fake candidate during the 2020 election. Artiles’s home was also raided by police. As former gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham tweeted, “FYI, the @FloridaGOP have been orchestrating these ‘shill candidate’ schemes for years. This time they got caught.”

Read the full article here.