A.G. Gancarski
As the final campaign finance reports of the 2016 cycle come in, three Northeast Florida Republican candidates for the state House finished strong.
Despite not having any major party opposition on the ballot, House District 11’s Cord Byrd, HD 16’s Jason Fischer, and HD 18 incumbent Rep. Travis Cummings each raised over $10,000 between Oct. 22 and Nov. 3, the final day for fundraising.
Byrd’s dazzling $22,800 haul nearly doubled his best previous reporting period in his campaign, dating back to January 2015, showing that institutional money wants a place at the Neptune Beach Republican’s table.
All told, Byrd raised $96,575 during his almost two years on the trail, spending $71,953 of that sum.
Byrd’s latest $22,800 came from reliably establishmentarian sources: $2,500 came from local dog tracks, such as the Orange Park and Jacksonville Kennel Clubs, and Jacksonville Greyhound racing; $3,600 came from government relations people, including Ron Book, Corcoran and Johnston, and Michael Corcoran; and still more money came from PACs, including Rep. Paul Renner‘s “Conservatives for Principled Leadership” and Daniel Davis’ “Building a Better Economy.”
Jacksonville Republican Jason Fischer, who still has to defeat a write-in on Tuesday, hauled in $10,250 during the reporting period.
That new money pushes Fischer’s total campaign haul up to $204,733, with $184,210 of that spent during the campaign.
Ronald Book and Paul Renner’s PAC both maxed out for Fischer, as did Sen. Aaron Bean‘s “Florida Conservative Alliance.”
Rep. Cummings finished strong also ahead of his general election battle with Libertarian Ken Willey, with 29 contributions between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3 adding up to $24,000.
Among the max donors: tobacco company Altria, Duke Energy, Tenet Health, Advance America, Humana, and Charter Communications.
During the most recent cycle, Cummings raised $276,575, spending $185,427 of that sum.
What can Northeast Florida observers surmise from this?
The money always finds the winners in the end.
