A.G. Gancarski
Al Lawson, a former member of the Florida House and Senate and onetime the “Dean of the Legislature,” appears financially well-positioned down the stretch in his race in Florida’s 5th Congressional District.
As of the October quarterly report, Lawson had $79,309 on hand.
Lawson’s $79,309 is well ahead of the cash-on-hand of his GOP opponent, Glo Smith, who had $11,908 on hand as of the same report, and had little to show for that spend other than a few billboards.
In his pre-primary filing, Lawson had more cash-on-hand; $120,190 in August.
Between August and the end of September, Lawson raised $43,731 and spent $84,612.
The bulk of both contributions and expenditures were made down the stretch before Lawson’s primary victory against incumbent Rep. Corrine Brown.
Though many of Lawson’s donors were from the western side of the district, such as Rep. Gwen Graham, there were some interesting Jacksonville players in the mix.
The Pajcic family — lawyers and notable Democratic donors — came through with $5,400 of new money.
And though it was before the Democratic primary in August, the $1,000 donation of reliably Republican Peter Rummell was catalogued in the most recent report.
Former Education Commissioner Jim Horne maxed out for Lawson before the primary also.
The October finance reports of both Lawson and Smith suggest there isn’t much drama down the stretch in Congressional District 5.
Most of the action — and all of the intrigue — in this race wrapped up in August.
