Grayson blasts primary foe Soto over support from Texas billionaire

Alan Grayson is blasting U.S. Rep. Darren Soto after a Texas billionaire spent nearly $230,000 supporting Soto’s 2016 campaign, including almost $200,000 to oppose the campaigns of Grayson’s wife, Dena, and former staffer Susannah Randolph in the Democratic primary that year.

Soto, D-Kissimmee, also has been under fire from Alan Grayson, now his 2018 primary opponent, for past contributions from the pro-charter school DeVos family, including the owner of the Orlando Magic, Richard DeVos Sr., and his daughter-inlaw and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

But those weren’t the largest expenditures by charter school advocates in favor of Soto.

In 2016, Texas billionaire John Arnold almost entirely funded a political action committee, Common Sense Leadership for America, that existed only for a few months and was solely involved in the race for Central Florida’s District 9 open seat.

Of the more than $400,000 Arnold gave to the PAC, according to Federal Election Commission filings, the group’s only independent expenditures were more than $200,000 spent to oppose Soto’s 2016 Democratic primary opponents and support Soto through calls and mailers.

More than $100,000 is listed as being spent in opposition to Dena Grayson, who was running to succeed her husband after he decided to run for U.S. Senate. Almost $84,000 was spent opposing Randolph, a former district director for Grayson. Almost $45,000 was spent in direct support of Soto.

Soto won the 2016 Democratic primary with about 36 percent of the vote to the about 28 percent each received by both Randolph and Dena Grayson.

Alan Grayson, who called the PAC a “shady charter school slush fund,” said its backing of Soto in 2016 “demonstrates that Soto’s voting card is for sale to the highest bidder. More than 60 percent of the money that Soto raises for his own campaign account is from specialinterest political action committees. Soto literally owes the clothes on his back to special interests.”

But Soto, who has stressed how much he’s changed in becoming a progressive from his moderate background as a state lawmaker, said some of his contributors may have supported him “based upon my reputation as a unifier, even if they don't always agree with all my positions."

Soto, who had supported expanding state tax credit scholarships and other pro-charter school measures during his time as a state representative and senator, said he did not coordinate with the PAC and has never been in contact with Arnold.

Asked about his current position on charter schools, Soto said Tuesday via a spokesman he would not eliminate or expand charter schools in Florida, “but rather require them to have the same standards, accountability and collective bargaining