Drew Wilson
Altamonte Springs Republican Rep. Bob Cortes crossed $100,000 in total fundraising last month in his bid for a third term representing House District 30.
Cortes’ April campaign finance report shows $10,650 in new money and $2,775 in spending, bringing his to-date total to $105,325 with more than $85,000 banked.
The new report lists 16 contributions, half of which were for the campaign maximum of $1,000. Top donors included towing company Emerald Transportation and political committees tied to incoming House Speaker Jose Olvia, Palm Coast Republican Rep. Paul Renner and St. Petersburg Republican Rep. Chris Sprowls, who is set to take the gavel after the 2020 elections.
Topping the expenditure list was a $1,500 payment to Tallahassee-based Silver Productions for video work and nearly $1,000 to D&D Enterprises of Sanford for campaign promotional items.
Two Democratic challengers stand between Cortes and a third term: Clark Anderson and Maitland City Commissioner Joy Goff-Marcil.
Goff-Marcil, who filed in mid-February, saw her contributions halve compared to her first two months in the race, though she still holds a substantial lead over Anderson. She raised $3,748 in April and spent $4,350. Through three finance reports, she’s raised $18,638 and has $14,256 in the bank.
Anderson, the first-in Democrat, added $350 to his coffers through more than a dozen small-dollar donations. He spent $500 more than he brought in, however, causing him to dip into the candidate loans he used to jumpstart his campaign in January.
He’s brought in $13,875 since filing, including $10,000 in loans. He has $9,858 on hand.
HD 30 straddles the border of Seminole and Orange counties and includes the communities of Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Eatonville, Fern Park, Forest City, Goldenrod, Lockhart and Maitland. About two-thirds of HD 30 voters live on the Seminole side.
Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district by about 3,000, though Cortes was able to kick out former Democratic Rep. Karen Castor Dentel with a 3-point win in 2014. He followed that up with a 7-point win over Democrat Ryan Neal Yadav in his 2016 re-election campaign.
