Drew Wilson
The Special Session last month paused fundraising efforts for lawmakers, but political committees for top Senate Republicans made a quick rebound after Sine Die.
Despite Stuart Sen. Joe Negron declaring victory in the race for the next Senate president, Sen. Jack Latvala bested him in fundraising for the month. Negron brought in $26,000 through his political committee, Treasure Coast Alliance, buoyed by $10,000 checks from AT&T and Comprehensive Health Management. The Florida Shopping Center PAC and Atlanta-based AGL Resources Florida City Gas PAC chipped in $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Latvala’s Florida Leadership Committee raised about $63,000 on the back of an end-of-August flurry including $10,000 checks from Duke Energy and St. Petersburg veterinarian Richard D. Wilkes. Florida Blue also gave FLC $10,000 before the second Special Session began. Most of the rest of FLC’s August funds came from individual donors chipping in $1,000 or less. In total, FLC brought in 44 checks to TCA’s four.
Heading into September, Latvala and Negron’s committees are virtually tied in fundraising. Negron leads by a few thousand dollars in cash on-hand, with both candidates sitting at about the $1.1 million mark. Latvala has raised more overall, with nearly $3.6 million in total contributions to FLC compared to TCA’s $3 million.
Bradenton Republican Sen. Bill Galvano, who is in line for the senate presidency after the winner of Latvala versus Negron, also had a solid close to the month. His committee, Innovate Florida, reports $65,000 in contributions for August, with $50,000 of that money coming in after the redistricting session. The tally includes a $30,000 check from Floridians United for Our Children’s Future, a PAC heavily funded by conservative casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Galvano had about $595,000 cash on-hand at the end of August.
Sen. Wilton Simpson outdid them all. The Pasco County senator, who is the presumptive Senate President in 2021, raised nearly as much as the other three senators combined. His committee, Jobs For Florida, brought in about $147,000 last month. The largest contribution, $30,000, came from the Florida Jobs PAC, which is backed by some of Florida’s biggest companies, including Florida Power & Light, Disney and Publix. The August numbers put Simpson with more than $400,000 cash on-hand.
