Aaron Bean, Cord Byrd build cash leads over primary challengers

Aaron Bean and Rep. Cord Byrd present a $375K check to the City of Neptune Beach.

State Sen. Aaron Bean and state Rep. Cord Byrd both face primary challenges, a measure of the pitched nature of Nassau County politics.

However, it appears they will have unmatchable resources in those ballot-box battles.

Bean, after raising $6,950 over the two weeks ending July 20, has roughly $98,000 in his campaign account. His committee account has another $72,000, and the two weeks featured a $10,000 contribution from Floridians for a Stronger Democracy, a political committee tied to the Associated Industries of Florida, money moved into Adam Putnam‘s Florida Grown committee the next week.

Bean’s opponent, Carlos Slay, has not raised money during this campaign, loaning himself the filing fee and money for signs: he has just over $14 on hand.

The winner of the Slay/Bean tilt will face two general election opponents.

Democrat Billee Bussard has just over $7,000 on hand ($4,655 raised in the two weeks ending July 20). And Libertarian Joanna Tavares, averse to raising money, has roughly $40 banked.

Rep. Byrd, like Bean, faces a primary battle where he has most of the ammo.

After raising $3,400 in the most recent two-week reporting period, the first-term Republican incumbent has $46,500 in his HD 11 nest egg.

This sum compares favorably with that of his primary opponent, Joe Zimmerman, who has just over $1,500 on hand, in a campaign largely self-financed, with help from businesses related to former state Rep. Janet Adkins.

The winner of the Byrd/Zimmerman contest will face Yulee Democrat Natchelly Rohrbaugh in the general.

After a $520 two-week period, he has nearly $9,000 on hand.