Peter Schorsch
Republican SD 16 candidate Ed Hooper is holding a fundraiser for his 2018 bid on Wednesday in Tallahassee, and the choice of venue should make him feel right at home.
The funder is set to run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the swanky new headquarters of The Florida Professional Firefighters, located cattycorner to the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center at 343 West Madison Street. Before seeking elected office, Hooper spent 24 years working for Clearwater Fire & Rescue.
Included on the host committee are Senate President Designate Bill Galvano, Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson and Tampa Republican Sen. Dana Young.
The event comes on the heels of another big month for Hooper on the fundraising trail.
Though his campaign hasn’t posted its full report for October, it said more than $80,000 was raised last month, putting the former four-term state representative over the $200,000 mark in cash on hand.
The campaign had about $128,000 in the bank at the end of September.
Hooper also has a political committee, Friends of Ed Hooper, which raised $38,000 in October and sits with $72,000 in the bank.
So far, Hooper is the only Republican running for the Pinellas County-based district, though he faces a challenger in Democrat Bernie Fensterwald, who had about $7,000 in his campaign account at the end of October.
Those looking to attend can RSVP with Mari Riba via [email protected] or by calling 727-455-9550.
The invitation is below.
