Brian Ballard and several lobbyists at his firm, Ballard Partners, will gather at a Washington steakhouse to raise money for Rep. Ted Deutch. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO 2020 Elections Lobbyist linked to Trump to host fundraiser for House Democrat

Brian Ballard, the Florida lobbyist who’s a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump’s campaign, on Tuesday will raise money for a Democrat.

Ballard and several lobbyists at his firm, Ballard Partners, will gather at a Washington steakhouse to raise money for Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO. A Deutch spokesman confirmed he planned to attend the fundraiser.


Two of the Ballard lobbyists listed on the invitation — former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), who represented Deutch’s district while in Congress, and Jamie Rubin, a former State Department official in the Clinton administration — are Democrats. But five others are Republicans, including Susie Wiles, who helped run Trump’s campaign in Florida in 2016 and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign last year; Dan McFaul, a former chief of staff to former Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.); Justin Sayfie; Syl Lukis; and Ballard.

It’s unusual for Republican lobbyists to host fundraisers for Democrats and vice versa, but it’s not unheard of. Norm Brownstein, a prominent Democratic lobbyist, attended a fundraiser his firm held for the National Republican Senatorial Committee earlier this year. And Ballard hosted a fundraiser for former Rep. Gwen Graham (D-Fla.) in 2013 when she first ran for Congress.

COUNTDOWN TO 2020 The race for 2020 starts now. Stay in the know. Follow our presidential election coverage. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Wexler, who helped organize the fundraiser, said it wasn't hard to convince his Republican colleagues to support Deutch. Ballard has known Deutch for more than a decade, since Deutch served in Florida's state Senate.

"Congressman Deutch is a reasonable, pragmatic, thoughtful representative," Wexler said in an interview. "He's a loyal Democrat, but he takes great pride in reaching across the aisle whenever possible."

Wexler said he wouldn’t be surprised if Ballard hosted more fundraisers for Democrats in the future. “The approach of the firm is to be a bipartisan firm,” he said.

Ballard, who once lobbied for Trump in Florida, has built a lucrative lobbying business in Washington since his former client’s election. His dozens of lobbying clients include Amazon, General Motors, Uber, Boeing and the GEO Group, the private-prison operator, according to disclosure filings, as well as the governments of countries such as Kosovo and Zimbabwe.

The suggested contribution for Tuesday’s fundraiser is $5,000 made through a PAC. While several dozen House Democrats have sworn off corporate PAC contributions, Deutch is not among them.

