Staff Reports
July could be shaping up to be another slow month for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.
Forward Florida, the political committee backing the Democrat’s 2018 gubernatorial bid, has raised just $10,000 so far this month. The committee received the sole contribution on July 14, according to rolling donation data posted to the committee’s website.
During the same time period, the committee spent $98,573, meaning it has spent $88,000 more than it has brought in.
The slow fundraising cycle comes on the heels of several straight months of anemic fundraising, and amid major staffing changes at the Gillum campaign.
Forward Florida reported raising no money in May and $25,000 in June; while state campaign finance records show his official campaign raised $194,518 — $96,760 in May and $97,758 in June — during the same two-month period.
But the sluggish numbers recently mark a drop from the early months of Gillum’s campaign. Forward Florida reported raising $92,000 in April and $428,540 in March. His official campaign raised $402,096 — $241,736 in March and $160,359 in April — during the same time period.
The slow fundraising month also comes as several top staffers left the campaign.
Brice Barnes, the deputy campaign manager and finance manager, left the campaign earlier this month. The campaign’s deputy finance director, Brad Kennedy, also left to work for Democratic CFO candidate Jeremy Ring. The campaign also announced earlier this month that campaign manager Phillip Thompson had departed the campaign.
The Gillum campaign has had a series of unforced political errors, including exaggerating the number of donors it received contributions from and a suggestion it has been using an email database from former Gov. Charlie Crist without authorization.
An FBI investigation into the city of Tallahassee’s Community Redevelopment Agency’s business deals is also hanging over the campaign. Although Gillum says he isn’t a target of the investigation, his proximity to the case could be scaring off some donors.
