Drew Wilson
Boca Raton Democratic Rep. Irv Slosberg put another $378,000 of his own money on the line in the Senate District 31 race, making for more than $1 million in loans since he entered the contest.
Outside of the loan, the veteran lawmaker raised just $1,500 between Aug. 6 and Aug. 12 — $1,000 from Florida Crystals and $500 from UPSPAC-Florida — while he spent $378,618 for the week in the hotly contested primary race against Lake Worth Democratic Sen. Jeff Clemens.
Most of that money went toward advertising, including $150,000 to Wyoming-based National Campaign Services and $75,000 to Georgia-based CPN Station. Boca Raton shop Mark Graphics also picked up about $40,000 over the course of the week.
Clemens brought in about $16,000 for his campaign during the weeklong stretch while his associated committees, “Each Vote Counts” and “Committee for a Prosperous Florida,” brought in a combined $124,000.
The Florida Education Association was by far Clemens’ biggest backer for the week, with a $100,000 check Aug. 8 to Each Vote Counts, though he also picked up $5,000 contributions from the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Service Employees International Union Florida.
Spending hit nearly $200,000 across the three accounts, including about $55,000 for mailers from Mack-Sumner Communications and $81,000 in ad buys from Nashville-based Fletcher Rowley.
On Aug. 12, Clemens had about $80,000 in campaign and committee funds, while Slosberg had about $41,000 in the bank. A third Democrat, Emmanuel Morel, is also running for the seat, but reports show him with $15,000 in contributions to date and less than $2,500 of that money on hand.
SD 31 covers the middle stretch of coast in Palm Beach County and carries a nearly 2-to-1 voter registration advantage for Democrats. A recent poll shows Clemens with a slight edge in the Democratic stronghold with 33 percent support compared to 29 percent for Slosberg and 4 percent for Morel. The survey found 34 percent of people were undecided.
