For years, I have been reporting in real time as Republicans in the post-Trump era crafted a new electoral playbook that marries MAGA culture war hysterics with buttoned-down, Chamber of Commerce conservatism. This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon, of course—recall how Ronald Reagan simultaneously courted evangelical Christians with his “Moral Majority” and tantalized the business crowd by dangling the miracle of supply-side economics and the Laffer curve, etcetera.

But in other ways, it really does feel like the political landscape has shifted beneath our feet. Corporate America is more plugged in than ever to social issues, as my Puck partner Bill Cohan noted today in his column about the proliferation of E.S.G. practices on Wall Street. That’s created an opening for savvy Republicans, like Ron DeSantis, who went toe-to-toe with Disney C.E.O. Bob Chapek last year over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Sure, DeSantis quietly backed down from his threat to strip Disney World of its special tax status. (Even Pence said he’d gone too far.) But DeSantis has clearly been successful in leveraging the woke wars to position himself as both anti-corporate and yet pro-business. That’s a nice trick. 

I discussed this phenomenon, and its fundraising implications, among other topics, with Teddy Schleifer, Puck’s expert on campaign finance. Herewith…