Incumbent Mike Miller increases fundraising lead over challengers in HD 47 race

Mike Miller Florida House

Incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Miller increased his lead over his three Democratic challengers for House District 47 last month, while neighboring HD 49 is still only sporting a single candidate.

Miller brought in $14,985 in January and only spent $826, leaving him with just over $79,000 on-hand in his re-election campaign. The 23 January contributions included 10 maximum contributions of $1,000, three of which came from companies owned by Pensacola-based Gulf Coast Health Care.

The first-term representative’s campaign account is still far ahead of his three Democratic challengers: attorney Henry Lim, TV production professional Beth Tuura and Clint Curtis, who is best known for accusing former U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney of election rigging. Curtis rang in with just $100 for the month, though, making the Democratic Primary look increasingly like a two-horse race.

Lim brought in just over $6,000 in January, including a $1,000 check from Reed Nissan, but ended up burning through $4,300 of his campaign funds, leaving him with just $13,702 on hand. Nearly $3,000 of that money went to Table Top Caterers for an event, with another $1,200 heading to campaign management fees.

Tuura, who entered the race in mid-November, has been a little more frugal with her money. In her third month in the contest, Tuura was able to raise about $5,000, including $1,000 from Lisa DeBartolo, the daughter of deceased shopping mall mogul and former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie Bartolo Jr. After just $343 in expenses for the month, her campaign account headed into February with $19,663 on hand.

In neighboring HD 49, Democrat Carlos Smith has yet to draw a challenger. The UCF-area seat is held by Rep. Rene Plasencia, who is shifting over to HD 50. Smith has not yet filed his January report though he finished the year $63,513 on hand.

Drew Wilson

Drew Wilson covers legislative campaigns and fundraising for Florida Politics. He is a former editor at The Independent Florida Alligator and business correspondent at The Hollywood Reporter. Wilson, a University of Florida alumnus, covered the state economy and Legislature for LobbyTools and The Florida Current prior to joining Florida Politics.



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