Drew Wilson
Republican Sens. Jack Latvala and Joe Negron may have posted big-time fundraising numbers in September but they weren’t the only Senate Republicans raking in contributions.
The political committee supporting Bradenton Republican Sen. Bill Galvano for Senate President brought in $207,500, its best fundraising performance since February, and it took only 10 contributions to hit that mark.
Innovate Florida’s biggest contributions came from the U.S. Sugar Corp. and Florida Power & Light, each giving $50,000, with the Florida Hospital Association giving $30,000 and Beall’s writing a check for $25,000.
The 2018-20 Senate president-designate also got $10,000 checks from Florida Blue, Agro-Industrial Management, the Florida Biomass Growers Association and Benderson Development Co.
September expenditures totaled $32,207, leaving Galvano’s committee with more than $771,000 cash-on-hand heading into October. The Manatee Education Foundation, a nonprofit supporting PreK-12 education in Galvano’s home county, got $15,000 of that money, and Tampa-based Ground Game Solutions got $10,614 for a consulting contract and travel reimbursements.
Former Senate President Tom Lee also broke the six-figure mark with $134,050 in contributions to his committee, The Conservative. The Florida Hospital Association and pediatric healthcare group MEDNAX each gave $25,000 followed by the Delray Recovery Center and the Realtors Political Advocacy Committee at $10,000 each.
The committee only spent $12,271 last month, though $1 million of its cash reserves were transferred to an interest bearing account. Not including that money, the Brandon Republican’s committee has $511,439 on-hand.
Republican Sen. Wilton Simpson, next in line for the presidency after Galvano, collected eight checks totaling $59,500 in contributions through his Jobs for Florida political committee.
The Trilby senator’s top donation was a $25,000 check from U.S. Sugar Corp, with Disney and the Committee for Anesthesia Safety contributing $10,000 each.
Jobs for Florida had $30,591 in expenses last month, leaving the committee with $636,593 on-hand. Tallahassee-based Meteoric Media Strategies got $12,500 from the committee for media services and Capitol Finance Consulting was paid $7,500 for consulting work.
The committee also cut a $1,000 check to incumbent Republican Daniel Burgess’ campaign in House District 38. The 29-year-old representative is running unopposed for a second term in the lower chamber.
Hialeah Republican Sen. Rene Garcia’s committee, People in Need of Government Accountability, topped its August numbers with an $87,500 haul in September.
Hialeah-based MRI office Springs Crossing Imaging was the biggest donor at $27,500, followed by real estate development group The Canyon Family and advertising house Trispark Media, which gave $12,500 each. The committee also picked up $10,000 checks from Path Medical Center and Action for Behavior Health, a political committee backed by the Florida Council for Behavioral Health.
Committee expenditures totaled $7,170 and included a $5,000 gala sponsorship for His House Children’s Home and a $1,000 check to his own re-election campaign. The final tally puts Garcia’s committee at $512,827 cash-on-hand.
Contributions drop off after the top four. Sens. Rob Bradley and Lizbeth Benacquisto each brought in about $30,000 through their committees, with most remaining senators reporting less than $10,000 in September.
