Big spending for and by Rod Smith in competitive state Senate race

Rod Smith Florida Democratic Party (Large)

Both Republicans and Democrats have prioritized the race in the Gainesville-centric Senate District 8 race, and Democrat Rod Smith‘s latest campaign finance report provides yet more evidence that, for Democrats, this one is a must-win.

All told, Smith has raised $539,570, received $227,939 in in-kind contributions (largely staff and polling from the Florida Democratic Party), and spent $486,934.

Smith has just under $53,000 on hand, but what is clear is that the veteran politician will not be hurting for resources despite the aggressive burn rate thus far.

The last reporting period, spanning Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, stands as a microcosm of the larger effort.

The Florida Democratic Party spent $24,200 on polling for Smith, as part of $26,700 in in-kind contributions.

Meanwhile, Smith raised $26,125 in hard money from throughout the state in October’s first week, including $1,000 donations from the Florida Cow PAC and the Florida Ob/Gyn PAC.

Smith’s spending is the real story at this point, though.

During the first week of October, Smith spent $113,824, the third straight reporting period in which Smith has spent $113,000 and change.

Smith has spent consistently and aggressively on television buys since September began, and the first week of October was no exception.

Smith spent just over $108,000 on television time between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7.

In September, Smith spent just over $163,000 on television, with another $45,000 on a TV shoot and ad production.

As of Friday morning, his opponent, Keith Perry, had not posted his latest campaign finance numbers.

At the end of September, Perry had roughly $72,000 on hand.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704