Peter Schorsch
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson added nearly $1.8 million in the third quarter according to a new report filed with the Federal Elections Commission.
The new numbers also show Nelson’s principal campaign committee spent about $600,000 between the first of July and the end of September, leaving the longtime Democratic lawmaker with a little over $6.31 million in the bank heading into Q4.
That amounts to a net gain of about $1.17 million for the campaign, which had about $5.14 million in the bank at the end of Q2.
The FEC had not finished processing all the contributions and expenditures in the quarterly report as of Sunday, though the big-picture numbers show $1.43 million of the Q3 money came in from individuals, while $243,550 came from political committees.
The campaign also brought in another $78,450 worth of funds transfers from other authorized committees and received $2,000 from political party committees, with rebates, refunds, dividends, interest and other miscellany making up the rest of the balance.
Nelson has been in the U.S. Senate since 2001, winning handily in each of his three campaigns, but in 2018 he is likely to face a major roadblock for a fourth term due to Gov. Rick Scott, who is widely expected to enter the race.
Scott has never had a problem pulling in money – or dipping into his personal fortune – during his two successful bids for governor. His political committee, Let’s Get to Work, currently has about $2.8 million on hand even without him officially announcing his plans post-governor’s mansion.
That number will likely balloon once Scott makes a formal announcement due to his strong support among state businesses and the loaded political committees that back pro-business policies and politicians.
