Eyeing gubernatorial bid, Phil Levine’s political committee raises $2 million in June

With Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine traveling the state to speak with Floridians about the state’s direction and how to best position Florida for the future, his political committee, All About Florida raised $1.7 million in June.

A nearly $2 million boost brings the total for his political committee to about $4 million. Officials with the Levine campaign were quick to note that this number is double what officially announced Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham has raised so far.

The Mayor — a Democrat and close friend of former President Bill Clinton — remains noncommittal about entering the Governor’s race and has even floated the idea of running as an independent.

“There’s one assumption that you made there — that somehow if I ran for Governor I would be a Democratic governor,” Levine told a Tampa Tiger Bay audience in May. “Too much is about Democrat and Republican. It needs to be about the people; maybe possibly it’s time we do something different.”

Right now, much of Levine’s time is being taken up by his listening tour, funded by All About Florida. If he should run for Governor, however, Levine — worth about $100 million as a cruise ship industry executive — told the Miami Herald in March he is “100 percent” open to the idea of self-funding a campaign, much like Rick Scott, Florida’s current chief executive.

“Mayor Levine is focused on traveling the state to talk with Floridians who are eager to see fresh leadership with a record of getting things done,” said Christian Ulvert, an adviser to Levin. “As he continues to hear from Floridians, Mayor Levine is more committed than ever to ensure Florida is best positioned to be the future state and June is proof positive that his message is being well received.”

Levine closed the month by hosting the largest-ever U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami Beach where record attendance brought mayors from across the country to discuss important issues like infrastructure investments, local control, climate change, living minimum wage and health care.

While financial information for June has not been released yet by other candidates, GOP front-runner Adam Putnam is widely expected to lead the fundraising race among announced candidates for governor, with an estimated $15 million between his campaign account and his Florida First committee.