A.G. GancarskiPaul Renner is seen as Northeast Florida’s best hope for a Florida House Speaker anytime soon. And his PAC reflects the power that he has, as recent fundraising totals show.
Through the end of December, the PAC had raised almost $347,000, with almost $33,000 in December.
Big dollars came in from General Motors, U.S. Sugar, MCNA Health Care and various PACs, with another $554 coming in from the Jay Fant campaign, a scenario that might have seemed improbable to Jacksonville Republicans not too long ago.
It’s more than $100,000 in January money, however, that shows the stroke Renner has in Northeast Florida. Contributions came in from former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney, the Fiorentino Group, two generations of Thomas Petways, Wayne Weaver, Michael Munz, Best Bet, and Gate Petroleum (of John Peyton fame).
Renner may have lost an election by a couple of votes to Fant, but as his PAC indicates, he’s becoming the go-to legislator for those who matter in Notheast Florida.
Renner and Sen. Travis Hutson were both sworn in mid-way through the 2015 Session after winning special elections in the wake of the chain reaction set off by former Sen. John Thrasher‘s move to step down from the Legislature and assume the top job at Florida State University.
The first-term Republican from Palm Coast sits on three health care-related committees, the House panel on veterans’ affairs, and the powerful Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee
