Mitch Perry
Augie Ribeiro has now spent $672,075 in the Senate District 19 race.
The St. Petersburg-based civil justice attorney’s fundraising prowess — more than 70 percent of it from his own deep pockets — dwarfs the totals of the other three candidates in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, Ed Narain, Betty Reed and Darryl Rouson.
Narain, the House District 61 state Representative trying to advance to the Senate, has the most cash-on-hand in the waning days of the campaign with $55,691. Among his recent contributions in the latest fundraising period of August 13-25 was a $1,000 donation from the MillerCoors Brewing Co. in Milwaukee.
Rouson has $21,988 cash-on-hand going into the weekend.
Reed, who served as a state Representative in Tallahassee from 2006 until 2014, has raised significantly less cash the her competitors in the campaign, having taken in just over $34,000 to date, including a $500 loan from her own pocket in the last week. She does have $18,985 cash-on-hand.
SD 19 encompasses major portions of both downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg. Its electorate is 33 percent black and 16 percent Hispanic. More than 53 percent of the electorate are registered Democrats, compared to just 23 percent who are registered Republicans.
The winner of the Aug. 30 primary will face Republican John Houman in the fall.
