Angela Corey shows fundraising strength, but Melissa Nelson still ahead

Melissa Nelson and Angela Corey in Fleming Island.

Incumbent State Attorney Angela Corey may be 26 points down in a recent poll, but she’s still fundraising like she’s ahead.

Corey largely closed the hard money gap with challenger Melissa Nelson in the most recent reporting period, though Corey’s PAC is still far behind Nelson’s in terms of resources.

The $24,750 in contributions raised during the P3 period, spanning July 9 to July 22, brought Corey over $350,000, with $103,000 of that still on hand.

Nelson brought in $27,690 of new money during the same period, bringing her total raised up to $349,853, with contributions from a diverse range of donors, including personal injury lawyer Eddie Farah and Liberty Counsel barrister Roger Gannam.

Nelson had over $126,000 on hand, as her campaign spent $166,029 in the P3 period. Of the money spent, $150,000 went to an ad buy.

A third candidate in the race, Wes White, raised $1,250 and spent $2,275 in the period. He now has $894 on hand.

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The political committee side of the equation tells a different tale.

“First Coast Values,” the political committee for Nelson, raked in $89,000 in its most recent week of fundraising, from July 16 to July 22.

The money came from five donors, with three of them — former Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, charter school magnate Gary Chartrand, and John Baker — giving $25,000 each.

Nelson’s committee has raised $630,800 thus far, and has $240,000 of that on hand.

Corey’s “Citizens for Justice” committee, meanwhile, reported no new money in the same time period, and has just $57,000.

However, Corey’s PAC is getting some help from White, who is using a sponsored Facebook post to circulate a webpage Corey’s PAC put out regarding the “true” Melissa Nelson.

White writes: “The “Monster of Mayport” promised he would kill again, but Melissa Nelson and (then-State Attorney) Harry Shorstein refused to seek the death penalty — and a young man died as a result. Now, Jacksonville’s criminal defense attorneys want Nelson and Shorstein to return to the state attorney’s office. Is there any wonder why? THETRUEMELISSANELSON.COM.”

Of course, there is another side of the story, as is often the case when it comes to campaign hit pieces.

The Florida Times-Union reported the death penalty was not sought for William Wells, who murdered five people in 2003, because of concerns over the killer’s mental health and the wishes of the victims’ families. While in prison, he and another man killed another inmate.

When asked why he was sharing PAC advertising from an opponent he has spent over a year attempting to defeat, White said it was a “fair and accurate piece irrespective of where it was generated,” adding that FloridaPolitics.com should “get lost and play journalist somewhere else, K?”

Brian Hughes, on behalf of Nelson, spoke to the apparent collusion between White and Corey, as both face considerable deficits in poll numbers and cash-on-hand.

“Do you smell it? Desperation and fear is in the air. A politician who has become a millionaire in office and her single-digit stooge are losing to a genuine, conservative outsider. The website is so much trash that neither of them will even put their name on it; just look at the disclaimer. The Nelson campaign will not be bullied or slowed down by Corey’s hit squad, and voters are about to show them what integrity looks like,” Hughes wrote.

Republican voters in Nassau, Clay, and Duval counties will get to choose between these candidates Aug. 30.