including Florida State University and on behalf of school choice proponents.

But financial disclosures Lawson filed earlier this year revealed that he was on the payroll of the high-powered lobbying firm of Brian Ballard, who is a top fundraiser for Republicans including GOP president nominee Donald Trump. Ballard also has lobbied on behalf of Trump.

Lawson's financial disclosure filed May 16 with the clerk of the U.S. House lists Ballard Partners as source of income exceeding $5,000. This form said that Lawson's duties for Ballard Partners were "lobbying."

Three days later Lawson filed an amended form that changed his duties for Ballard from "lobbying" to "consulting."

(It's worth noting that Lawson's state lobbying registration filings do not show him registering for lobbying on behalf of Ballard.)

When asked about it a few weeksago, Khloe Greenwood, a spokeswoman for Lawson's campaign said: "Senator Lawson is not currently on payroll with Ballard Partners. He was a consultant during the legislative session earlier this year, and provided counsel for governmental and public affairs on a variety of projects."

Still the connection to Ballard and his firm may have proved useful to Lawson in other ways.

Jacksonville reporters noted that Susie Wiles, a top Trump campaign operative in Florida who also works for Ballard Partners, helped Lawson in his campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown. Lawson defeated Brown, who is currently facing federal fraud charges, in the Democratic primary. In one article there's a paraphrased quote from Wiles saying that the reason she's helping Lawson is because he had a good relationship with the