Trailing heavy favorite Donald Trump in the polls, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has discovered a new cause that he hopes can rally the Republican base around his campaign—beating up on Bud Light.
The once popular lager has become the go-to punching bag of conservative voters across the country after an April 1 promotional partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked an impromptu boycott that cost the brand its top spot as America’s favorite beer.
DeSantis said the fund, which owned roughly $50 million of AB InBev stock out of an overall $180 billion, suffered as a direct result of the decision. Shares in the brewer have since dropped 12% while rivals Contellation Brands and Molson Coors rallied 19% and 36%, respectively.
“We’re going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev, and it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund,” he told Fox News on Thursday.
“At the end of the day there’s got to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda at the expense of hard-working people.”
AB InBev did not respond to a request from Fortune for comment.
Political benefits
It’s unclear whether legally the argument holds any water, though for the candidate the political attention the lawsuit threat gets may be more valuable.
Support for DeSantis's campaign has flagged, and the governor turned to CNN this week to defend his candidacy and is currently in the midst of a campaign reboot, according to NBC.
Former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker urged DeSantis to “go bold” on Wednesday: “Just having a great track record as governor is not enough particularly when you go head-to-head with Donald Trump, but kinda light a fire with primary and caucus voters.”
DeSantis has built the very foundation of his campaign around stoking divisions in the culture war, trying to tap into the social backlash against political correctness. This has meant firing broadsides against The Walt Disney Company and threatening to build a prison right next to Disney World, his state’s biggest employer.
In return, Disney CEO Bob Iger launched a lawsuit against the state before implying he may pull much-needed investment. With management expert Bill George arguing in Fortune there can be no winners in the fight between DeSantis and Disney, DeSantis might be eager to shift his political point scoring to an easier target like Anheuser Busch.
Bud Light drops to fourth in bars and restaurants
Indeed, Anheuser-Busch—bereft of pretty much any support from either side at this point—appears to be a sitting duck.
LGBTQ-advocacy group GLAAD said its community was backing the Bud Light boycott perhaps even more wholeheartedly than conservatives, while Mulvaney attacked the beer brewer for lacking a backbone.
“I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did,” the influencer posted to Instagram at the end of last month. “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all.”
A new ad campaign kicked off by a recent visit to CBS Mornings, in which Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth made an emotion appeal on behalf of 65,000 workers whose livelihood depends on Bud Light, appears to have had little effect.
Hospitality industry software provider Union said Bud Light dropped to fourth place in the second quarter when it comes to on-premise sales in bars and restaurants, where nearly a fifth of all beer is consumed. Miller Lite, AB InBev’s own Michelob Ultra and Coors Light all proved more popular, after Bud Light demand plummeted 34% during the three-month period.
“While Modelo has been widely reported as the new king of beers in the off-premise channel, our data reveals that guests are gravitating towards Miller Lite and Guiness in lieu of Bud Light when going out,” said Layne Cox, marketing chief at Union in a statement on Wednesday.
Investors will get a better idea about the business impact of the Bud Light boycott when beneficiary Molson Coors reports quarterly results on Aug. 1, with beleaguered AB InBev following two days later.
