Mitch Perry
Democrat David Shapiro is reporting $250,128 raised over the past three months of 2017, his first quarter as a candidate for Florida’s 16th Congressional District.
That report includes contributions from more than 500 individual contributors from across the district.
Shapiro is a Sarasota attorney running against Longboat Key Republican incumbent Vern Buchanan, who has represented the district over the past decade.
“There has been a tremendous outpouring of support since I announced I was running for Congress back in October,” Shapiro said in a statement. “The financial support is just the tip of the iceberg. As I continue to talk with people the more I hear from them that they’re hungry for change, change they’ve been asking for in Washington for a long time and never received.
“As we continue to build momentum, I’m committed to keeping the focus of this campaign on the hardworking people in this community who need a voice in Congress that they can trust to stand on their side.”
Though Buchanan narrowly defeated Democrat Christine Jennings in his first run for the seat in 2006, he’s won re-election relatively easily since.
This time around, Democrats are optimistic about their chances, but defeating any congressional incumbent is always formidable. Last year, Florida Republicans openly mocked the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for putting CD 16 on a list of 79 GOP-held seats they would target in 2018.
Buchanan has yet to announce his fourth-quarter fundraising totals, but according to the last fundraising report released in October, he shows more than $2 million in his campaign account.
CD 16 covers all or parts of Sarasota, Manatee, and Hillsborough counties.
