Drew Wilson
Agriculture Commissioner and GOP candidate for governor Adam Putnam overcame a slow start to raise $165,000 for his political committee so far in August, though “Florida Grown” is still well below its monthly average.
Disney, Comcast, the Firefighter FactPAC and circus co. CEO Kenneth Feld each cut $25,000 checks to the committee. Adena Golf gave $15,000, pari-mutuel company Gulf Stream Park Racing Association pitched in about $14,000 across four contributions, and pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb threw $10,000 into the pot.
None of the money came until Aug. 11, making the month an unusually one for Putnam, who has cleared $1 million in contributions for his committee each month since he announced he was running for governor.
The committee has also burned through more than it raised this month, with $187,000 in expenditures listed between Aug. 1 and Aug. 22.
Consulting groups made up the bulk of the spending, including $42,000 to Lakeland-based Silloh Consulting LLC. The largest non-consulting expense came in the form of a $25,000 contribution to a committee controlled by former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, who is running for his old job again this year.
Through the end of July, Florida Grown had raised a total of $14.7 million and had about $10.85 million on hand, and those numbers look unlikely to change much unless the last week of August sees Florida Grown take in a flurry of contributions.
