Drew Wilson
Clearwater Republican Sen. Jack Latvala may have been the big winner in August fundraising, but Joe Negron bounced back in September, bringing in more than $500,000 through the committee supporting his bid for the senate presidency.
The unofficial tally shows Treasure Coast Alliance with $515,050 in contributions and $13,409 in expenditures, leaving the Stuart Republican with about $1.62 million in the bank at the start of October.
The haul came across 89 contributions, with 29 checks of $10,000 or more. The Florida Biomass Growers Association, the Racing Corp of West Virginia, Friends of Mike H PAC and West Palm Beach law firm Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart & Shipley topped the list with $25,000 checks. AIF and the Sheldon Adelson-backed political committee Floridian’s for a Stronger Democracy sent in $20,000 each.
The majority of TCA’s September expenditures came from a $9,000 payment to Ashely Ross’ consulting shop and a $2,500 check to Bascom Communications.
Latvala’s committee didn’t slouch, though. Florida Leadership Committee data, current through Sept. 29, shows $339,652 in contributions and $68,279 in expenditures. Based on those figures, Latvala’s committee has about $1.54 million on-hand, only slightly behind the total for TCA.
The majority of FLC’s 230 September contributions came from people giving $1,000 or less. At the top of the heap, B & L Service gave $15,000, and taxi companies Mears Destination Services and City Cab Company of Orlando chipped in $12,500 each.
About $18,000 of the committee’s outflow paid for an early-September fundraiser. The rest was spread across a short list of Senate campaigns and political committees.
Republican senators are scheduled to vote for the next senate president on Dec. 2. Negron said he has the votes and declared himself the victor last month.
