Bud Light company lobbyist also top bundler for DeSantis' presidential campaign

It has been revealed that one of the bundlers for Florida governor Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is also a partner at a lobbying group that works with Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light.

Slater Bayliss, a veteran of Florida politics and co-founder of The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners, is listed among the embattled beer brand's lobbyists alongside other members of TAG.



As Politico reports, a photo taken during DeSantis' presidential launch in May at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami shows Bayliss in third place for overall donations raised by an individual bundler, at $242,600. 

Bundlers, who collect and compile contributions from donors, have become an integral part of political campaigns in recent years, and Bayliss has been quite successful.

When pressed on his tangential relationship to Bud Light by Politico, Bayliss declined to comment, as did a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign. Instead, they directed concerned citizens to comments made by the Florida governor himself regarding his thoughts with campaign fundraising following an attack by fellow Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley centred around a $20,000 donation from Disney.

"How utterly bizarre," he told radio host Brian Kilmeade. "I mean, somebody does a campaign contribution and you're supposed to lay down for them? That's not how I operate. People can support me or not support me; I call them as I see them and if you've supported me but you're wrong, I'm gonna do what's right."

TAG and Bayliss have dozens of high profile clients, including AT&T and JetBlue, however it is his association with Anheuser-Busch that has drawn attention.

Bud Light's parent company has seen its market value and reputation take a massive hit as of late amid a conservative-led boycott of the brand over its decision to partner with infamous transgender TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney.

Last week, its stock reached a nearly three-year low.

DeSantis has been an outspoken critic of the brand's decision. "Why would you want to drink Bud Light?" he told Benny Johnson in an interview during the Mulvaney debacle.