Peter Schorsch- Alex Barrio
- Allegiant Friends for Florida
- Amy Mercado
- Beth Tuura
- Bob Healy
- Central Florida
- Chuck O'Neal
- Common Sense for Central Florida
- Darren Soto
- Dean Asher
- Eric Eisnaugle
- Gary Siplin
- henry lim
- Linda Stewart
- Mike Clelland
- Mike Miller
- Noel Bickford
- Orange County
- Orange County School Board
- Randolph Bracy
- Rene Plasencia
- rick roach
- Robert Sindler
- Tom Goodson
- Tom Leek
The frontrunners in many Central Florida legislative races piled on more money last month, with several candidates holding six-figure leads five months out from Election Day.
In Senate District 13, the most competitive race among Orange County’s Senate seats, former Democratic Rep. Mike Clelland is trouncing the other two Democrats in the race with more than $117,000 in his campaign account and another $220,000 on hand in his political committee, “Common Sense for Central Florida.”
Former Orange County School Board member Rick Roach added about $5,000 last month, leaving him with about $31,000 on hand, while Rep. Linda Stewart raised just $1,655 in May and has about $18,000 on hand in her campaign account.
Even though Clelland is far in the lead of his primary opponents, he still must face Republican Dean Asher, who has proven to be one of the better fundraisers this cycle. The Orlando Realtor added another $26,000 in campaign contributions last month for an on-hand total of about $220,000, and he has another $199,000 in his political committee, “Allegiant Friends for Florida.”
In Senate District 11, Democratic Rep. Randolph Bracy is still on top in the four-way primary for the seat with about $55,000 on hand, though he was out-raised in May by former state Sen. Gary Siplin, who raised $13,300 for an on-hand total of just under $19,000.
The other two Democrats in the race, Chuck O’Neal and Robert Sindler, both spent more than they brought in last month. O’Neal finished May with about $22,000 on hand, while Sindler raised $1,000 and spent $4,000 to start June with just over $9,000 in the bank.
Over in SD 15, political newcomer Bob Healy chipped in another $20,000 of his own money to top fellow Democrat and state Rep. Victor Torres and Republican Peter Vivaldi in fundraising for the second month running.
The cash infusion brings the Kissimmee Democrat’s on-hand total to about $32,000, which brings him a little closer Torres, whose $19,000 haul brought his on-hand total to around $67,000.
Vivaldi, who faces an uphill battle in the left-leaning seat, added another $8,140 in May for an on-hand total of $15,151 two months into his campaign.
Most of Central Florida’s races in the House are in the same lopsided state they’ve been in for months: Republican Tom Leek holds a six-figure lead over Democrat Noel Bickford in HD 25, Will McBride holds a near $250,000 lead over his Republican primary opponent in HD 27, Republican Randy Fine leads his sole opponent by $170,000 in HD 53, and Democrat Carlos Guillermo Smith passed the $100,000 mark in HD 49 while the two Republicans challenging him are struggling to scrounge up $10,000 between them.
Most incumbents are also faring well, with Reps. Mike LaRosa and Eric Eisnaugle sporting big leads in their re-election campaigns, while fellow Republican Reps. Rene Plasencia and Tom Goodson are far in the lead running in new districts.
For a while, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Miller looked to be in danger for his re-election campaign in HD 47, though he has had a pair of successful fundraising months and entered June with about $120,000 on hand, which beats the combined funds of the three Democrats running against him.
Beth Tuura still holds the lead among the three challengers with about $45,000 on hand, followed by Henry Lim, who has $40,000 in his campaign account after throwing in $20,000 of his own money last month. The third Democrat, Clint Curtis, raised just $5 last month leaving him with about $2,400 on hand.
One of the few competitive House races looks to be the Democratic Primary race for HD 48, where Amy Mercado, the daughter of Rep. Torres, is facing Alex Barrio.
Mercado was the first major candidate to enter the race to replace her father, though she has had a hard time keeping up with Barrio, who has worked under popular Central Florida Democrats Darren Soto and Joe Saunders, among others.
May saw the tides turn a bit, however, with Mercado adding $12,390 in contributions compared to just $3,002 for Barrio. The numbers put Mercado in the lead with about $20,000 on hand compared to about $8,000 for Barrio, who has seen his fundraising totals steadily drop since his March debut.
