Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Lee County incumbents continued to build their campaign accounts in January.
All four Lee County state House members are running unopposed. But that didn’t stop them from raising thousands of dollars, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections.
Lawmakers can’t raise money during the Legislative Session, which started Jan. 12. That means all of the campaign cash raised by Lee County Republicans came in during the first two weeks of the year.
Rep. Matt Caldwell was the top fundraiser during the January fundraising period, according to campaign finance reports. The North Fort Myers Republican raised $41,475 in January. All of but one of those donations came in on either Jan. 6 or Jan. 11.
Top donors to Caldwell’s campaign in January included Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, the Florida Insurance Council and the Florida Thoroughbred PAC.
Caldwell spent $9,628 in January, much of which went toward buying airtime on radio stations. Since opening his re-election account in September 2014, Caldwell has raised $177,280 and spent $73,696.
Rep. Dane Eagle raised $19,625 in January. Records show the Cape Coral Republican received all of those donations on Jan. 11. Top donors to Eagle’s re-election bid included Southwest Florida Enterprises, West Flagler Associates and Resorts World Miami, LLC.
Eagle spent $5,797 in January. Since opening his re-election campaign account in November 2014, Eagle has raised $75,886 and spent $49,517.
In January, Rep. Ray Rodrigues raised $14,750. The vast majority of those donations came in on Jan. 11, according to campaign finance records. Top donors to Rodrigues’ campaign in January included Resorts World Miami, LLC, Lykes Bros. Inc and Municipal Electric PAC.
The Estero Republican spent $1,120 in January, the bulk of which went toward campaign consultants. Since opening his campaign account in November 2014, Rodrigues has raised $85,950 and spent $39,687.
Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen raised $9,100 in January. Records show she received most of those donations on either Jan. 7 or Jan. 11. Top donors to the Fort Myers Republican’s re-election bid included Education Management II, LLC, FirstService Residential Inc. and the Florida Pharmacist Political Committee.
She spent $16,660 in January. A significant portion of that sum went toward mailers.
Since opening her re-election campaign account, Fitzenhagen has raised $117,000 and spent $76,340.
