HD 27 GOP hopeful William McBride adds $13K in April, with $260K on hand

Republican House District 27 candidate William McBride added another $13,050 in contributions last month for an on-hand total of more than $260,000 after six weeks in the campaign.

McBride’s April numbers feature 12 checks for the maximum campaign donation of $1,000, including $4,000 across four checks from Orlando attorneys Richard Newsome and Robert Nelson and their law firm.

April also brought the first major expenditures of McBride’s campaign, with Dunedin-based Strategic Image Management picking up about $6,000 in consulting and a mailer campaign. After expenses are taken into account, McBride finished April with $262,485 in the bank.

With McBride building a more than 100-to-1 cash-on-hand advantage over his primary rival Zenaida Denizac, rumors are circulating that the Deltona Republican is considering dropping out of the race.

Denizac entered the race in early January, ahead of current HD 27 Rep. David Santiago’s announcement he would leave the seat to run for Congress, and has raised $6,955 in four months.

The anemic fundraising numbers were capped off by an $805 performance in April that left her with just over $2,000 on hand three months out from the August Republican Primary.

Given HD 27’s electorate, the contest will likely decide Santiago’s successor, though the race has also drawn in Democrat Robert Mann and no-party candidate Randi Doan, neither of whom have posted any campaign contributions.