Drew Wilson
House District 27 candidate William McBride kick-started his campaign with a six-figure loan while fellow Republican Zenaida Denizac raised just $1,900, according to newly filed campaign finance reports.
McBride and Denizac are running to replace Deltona Republican Rep. David Santiago, who is running for Congress, in the GOP-leaning seat. Denizac, a former Deltona city commissioner who filed in early January, finished her third month with about $1,200 on hand compared with $259,000 for McBride.
While $250,000 of McBride’s March haul came in through loans to his campaign, the personal injury attorney was also able to bring in $9,000 in contributions and got through the month without spending any of that money.
Among his donors were Orlando attorneys Laura Morgan, Zachary Leacox, Aaron Scicchitano and Nicholas Norden, all of whom work for the law firm McBride founded. Also on the list was Sarasota chiropractor Gary Kompothecras of 1-800-ASK-GARY fame.
Denizac’s $1,900 haul came in from eight contributions, two of them checks from her family, while her $4,116 in expenditures included a $1,500 check to the Argyle Agency for campaign photos and a $1,000 payment to Front Line Strategies for consulting work.
The two Republicans are also facing a pair of no-party candidates in Randi Doan and Donald Mair. Both of them filed zeros across the board in their March finance reports, however, Mair did loan his campaign $900 in February.
Though HD 27 has more registered Democrats than Republicans, McBride and Denizac are unlikely to face a major challenge on Election Day. Former DeBary Mayor Bob Garcia, the last Democrat to run for the seat, lost to Santiago by 16 points in the 2014 general election.
