Drew Wilson
Republican Senate District 13 candidate Dean Asher added to his fundraising lead in October, raising $55,250 between his campaign account and political committee.
The Orlando area Realtor brought in $5,250 through his campaign account, which finished the month with just under $149,000 cash on-hand. Allegiant Friends for Florida, his political committee, posted the other $50,000 after showing no contributions since June.
That $50,000 came from one donor: The National Association of Realtors. With only $15 in expenditures, the committee has a comfortable $199,000 cash on-hand.
Asher’s competition, former Orange County School Board member Rick Roach and retired contractor Chuck Sheridan are looking more outmatched with each campaign finance report. Roach, a Democrat, was able to raise a little over $1,800 in October, while Sheridan has yet to post any contributions since he filed for the seat in mid-June.
The October performance gives Roach an on-hand total of $32,686 – less than a tenth of Asher’s $348,000 total.
District 13 is currently held by Republican Senate President Andy Gardiner, who faces term limits in 2016. The district has a slight GOP tilt and, though it had been speculated earlier this year that a big name Democrat, such as former Reps. Karen Castor Dentel or Linda Stewart could enter the race. In June, Gardiner said his wife, Camille Gardiner, was also considering running for the seat.
Asher’s dominant fundraising will probably make those candidates think twice about making a late entrance into the race, though depending on how redistricting shakes up the voter spread it might be too good of an opportunity to pass up for Stewart or Castor Dentel.
Stewart is expected to enter the race in the coming weeks after the final maps are redrawn in the redistricting process, currently taking place in Tallahassee.
