Drew Wilson
Vero Beach Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield topped her competition to stay on top in the Senate District 17 race last month with $32,090 in contributions.
Mayfield took in 84 contributions in April, including 11 checks for the maximum contribution of $1,000, but spent nearly as much as she brought in, leaving her with $196,617 in the bank, including the $200,000 she lent her campaign back in December.
The bulk of her April contributions came from Vero Beach, though she also brought in a check from Chicago-based pharmaceutical company AbbVie and a trio of contributions from marine construction businesses in Galliano, Louisiana.
Mayfield’s $30,139 in expenditures last month included nearly $18,000 in payments to West Palm Beach-based Acclaim Communications for a direct mail campaign and consulting work.
Melbourne Republican Rep. Ritch Workman, Mayfield’s closest competitor in the race to replace termed-out Republican Sen. Thad Altman, closed out April with $9,700 in contributions against $9,056 in expenditures, mainly on campaign signs and shirts, for an on hand total of $95,334 in his campaign account.
The majority of Workman’s April haul came in through five $1,000 checks from political committees and maximum contributions from Weston attorney Fred Karlinsky and West Palm Beach law firm Lewis, Longman & Walker.
Also running in the GOP primary is Michael Thomas, who brought in $3,941 in April and spent $2,759 for an on hand total of $3,612 after four months in the race.
Christopher Duncan, the lone Democrat running for the Space Coast seat, has not yet filed his April campaign finance report and given SD17’s heavy Republican lean he faces long odds in the race.
