Drew Wilson
The Florida Democratic Party got a $100,000 boost from their new chair last month according to new finance documents filed with the Florida Division of Elections.
Stephen Bittel has been in place as the Democratic Party chair since January, when the Miami-Dade Democrat won a five-way race for the position with 55 percent of the vote.
Bittel’s $100,000 infusion was the largest single contribution the party took in for the month, which saw it bring in a little over $840,000.
The Florida Education Association also chipped in a combined $100,000 between its main organization and its FEA Solidarity Fund, and $90,000 came in from political committee New Direction Florida, which is headed by Democrat Edward James who lost out on the state House race to replace former Republican Rep. Ray Pilon.
Other major donors included Charter Communications at $68,000, and $25,000 and from a political committee headed up by Democratic Sen. Jeff Clemens.
The party spent about $430,000 during the reporting period, which covered Jan. 1 through the end of March, leaving it with about $4.7 million on hand.
The Republican Party of Florida brought in about $2.5 million in the same time frame, leaving them with nearly $16 million in the bank after expenditures.
