The Detention File · Florida elections 2026 · Governor, Attorney General & CFO
Reported figures · records being reconciled
Florida owes detention vendors $417 million.
Several are top donors in the governor’s race.
Two ledgers, read side by side: what the state owes these companies, and what they gave to candidates. The records show both. They do not show that one caused the other.
Disclosure. SignalData is an open-records project founded by Dean Abrams, a no-party-affiliation candidate in this race, who appears in chapter 3. His figures are checked against the same records as everyone else’s. About SignalData’s founder.
GEO Group gave $3.5 million to the leading fundraiser. Its joint venture is owed nearly $40 million.
Different entities · different financial measures · not a traced transfer
What these records do not show: that state money funded any donation, that any contribution influenced a contract, a payment or a delay in payment, or that any transaction was unlawful. No such link has been established.
592 unpaid invoices. Five vendors account for most of the money.
Florida Division of Emergency Management records presented to lawmakers in September list 592 outstanding invoices for Operation Vigil Sentry, totaling more than $417 million, WUSF reported.
More than $68M
IRG Global Emergency Mgmt.IRG gave; parent ARS gave separately
$250,020 · ARS $100,020
More than $40M
CDR CompaniesDuart + 3 CDR entities
$620,790
Nearly $40M
GEO|CDR Baker LLCGEO Group gave
$3,500,000
More than $35M
Critical Response StrategiesCritical Response gave
$10,000
About $27.3M
Lemoine CDR LogisticsLemoine Co. gave
$59,000
Figure pending
AC Disaster ConsultingAC Disaster gave
$100,000
Figure pending
FORTS ServicesFORTS gave
$29,000
Owed: WUSF (Meghan Bowman, Sept. 30, 2026), citing FDEM. Contributions: FL Division of Elections, committee account 89043, checked Oct. 16, 2026. “CDR Companies” combines CEO Carlos Duart ($250,000), CDR Enterprises ($250,000), CDR Companies ($100,000) and CDR Maguire ($20,790 in-kind). GEO’s fourth $1,000,000 contribution (Oct. 8, 2026) and IRG’s $250,020 (Sept. 25, 2026) were filed after WUSF’s report; SignalData found them in state records. IRG and its parent ARS are shown separately, not combined. AC Disaster Consulting gave $50,000 on Feb. 6 and $50,000 on Aug. 13, 2026, and FORTS Services $4,000 on Feb. 24 and $25,000 on Sept. 18, 2026; WUSF lists both among vendors owed smaller amounts, figures pending.
GEO|CDR Baker LLCJoint venture of The GEO Group and CDR CompaniesDocumented: GEO confirmed to WUSF
Lemoine CDR Logistics, LLCJoint venture of CDR Companies and The Lemoine CompanyPer WUSF · Sunbiz filing pending
IRG Global Emergency Mgmt.Subsidiary of Access Restoration Services (ARS)Per WUSF · Sunbiz filing pending
CDR HealthCDR subsidiary; paid $5,184,400 from the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund for “illegal migration” workPer WUSF · DFS payment rows pending
Who took money from these vendors, and who didn’t.
Explore the money graph →
Accepted contributions from listed vendors
No contributions from listed vendors
Governor · RepublicanByron Donalds$4,668,830Friends of Byron Donalds: GEO $3.5M; CDR & Duart $620,790; IRG $250,020; ARS $100,020; AC Disaster $100,000; Lemoine $59,000; FORTS $29,000; Critical Response $10,000 (FL Division of Elections, through Oct. 9, 2026; includes $20,790 in-kind). His candidate account’s contribution rows are not yet pulled.
Governor · DemocratDavid Jolly$0No contributions from any listed vendor in his candidate account (all 165,296 rows, through Oct. 9, 2026) or in Florida 2026, the committee WUSF says backs him (through Oct. 2, 2026). FL Division of Elections.
Governor · No party affiliationDean Abrams$0*No GEO Group contributions found in direct-contribution records (FL Division of Elections, account 90433).
Attorney General · RepublicanJames Uthmeier$334,800Friends of James Uthmeier: CDR Enterprises $275,000; GEO $50,000; CDR Maguire $800 in-kind. His candidate account: GEO $3,000; Carlos Duart $3,000; IRG $3,000. FL Division of Elections, through Oct. 9, 2026. WUSF first reported the GEO $50,000.
Attorney General · DemocratJosé Javier Rodríguez$0*No GEO Group contributions found in direct-contribution records (FL Division of Elections, account 89231).
CFO · RepublicanBlaise Ingoglia$145,020Friends of Blaise Ingoglia, since Jan. 1, 2025: CDR Enterprises $100,000; IRG $25,020 (Oct. 8, 2026); GEO $15,000; ARS $5,000. His candidate account: none. FL Division of Elections, through Oct. 9, 2026. Separately, GEO gave the committee $12,500 in 2022–2024, while he was a state legislator; not included.
CFO · DemocratAnnette Taddeo$0*No GEO Group contributions found in direct-contribution records (FL Division of Elections).
* No contributions from The GEO Group were found in a review of each candidate’s direct contributions in the Florida Division of Elections database: Abrams (account 90433), Rodríguez (account 89231); Taddeo account link to be added. Other listed vendors, and giving through political committees, have not yet been checked.
Scale. GEO Group’s $3.5 million is about 2.7 percent of the $129.7 million in contributions Friends of Byron Donalds reported through Oct. 9, 2026. Florida 2026 reported $9.4 million through Oct. 2, and Jolly’s candidate account $11.1 million in monetary contributions through Oct. 9 (FL Division of Elections). Totals for different accounts are not added together.
GEO lobbied Congress on two bills Donalds backed. Neither became law.
$690,000Earlier 2024 (H.R. 2)
$340,000Jul–Sep 2024 (both bills)
$350,000Oct–Dec 2024 (both bills)
Primary record · Congress.gov
H.R. 8430, Reshape Alternatives to Detention Act of 2024
- Sponsor
- Rep. Byron Donalds
- Introduced
- May 16, 2024
- Status
- Introduced; referred to House Judiciary
None of this is new. Florida has been the industry’s political home for years.
Historical study, 2009–2016, multiple states. Not current-cycle giving and never added to the 2026 figures above; the years in between have not been assembled.
Republican $4,961,306 · 77.9%Democratic $1,402,770 · 22.0%Third-party $7,500 · 0.1%
Florida Republican Party received $2,901,049, nearly 12× the next state party (California GOP, $249,000). Florida Democratic Party: $244,500.
FollowTheMoney.org, Table 2 and summary
Every card carries its source and its limits.
Responses and open questions
- GEO Group confirmed the GEO|CDR Baker joint venture to WUSF. A spokesperson for Carlos Duart told WUSF the company’s political giving reflects support for leaders who will strengthen Florida’s economy.
- SignalData will seek comment from the Donalds, Jolly, Uthmeier and Ingoglia campaigns, GEO Group, CDR, IRG/ARS, Lemoine, Critical Response Strategies, AC Disaster Consulting, FORTS Services and FDEM before this File leaves preview. Responses will be added here, dated.
- Still to obtain: amended reports and contributions filed after Oct. 9; Donalds’ candidate-account rows; Abrams, Rodríguez and Taddeo checked for all listed vendors and their committees; the FDEM invoice schedule with as-of date and dispute status; contract terms and ceilings; joint-venture ownership shares; procurement authority; full LDA reports.