Ryan Nicol
Manny Diaz is holding onto the fundraising lead in Senate District 36 despite a strong reporting period for Democrat David Perez.
Diaz, who is attempting to move to the Senate after representing House District 103, is the only Republican filed to run in the race.
He brought in more than $4,600 in outside contributions from Aug. 4 to Aug. 10. Nearly all of that came from assorted PACs from entities such as the Duke Energy Corporation and Holland & Knight law firm.
Diaz spent even more than that during the same period. He dropped more than $2,600 on various supplies and just over $1,500 on campaign door-hangers. Another $500 was spent on canvassing, and $444 went toward meals among other, smaller expenditures.
Still, Diaz holds plenty of money as he readies for the general. He’s brought in more than $450,000 overall, spending just over $250,000 of that.
Also, Diaz has a political committee called Better Florida Education. That committee spent just $1,250 during the recent reporting period, mostly on phone banking. Overall, the committee has about $20,00 cash on hand.
Perez, ex-aide to former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, has earned a lot of support from within the party as he competes with Julian Santos for the nod.
Perez managed to outraise Diaz during the Aug. 4 to Aug. 10 period, bringing in more than $13,000 to about $4,600 for Diaz. $5,000 of that came from various law firms, but Perez posted dozens of smaller contributions ranging from between $10 and $50 as well.
He spent just under $2,400 during the period on digital consulting and software services.
Floridians for Change, a political committee associated with Perez, spent $1,260 on legal expenses during this time frame. But the group is sitting on a ton of cash, raising nearly $130,000 so far and spending less than $6,000.
Santos trails Perez in the money race ahead of their Aug. 28 primary. He put $5,000 into his campaign, according to the recent reporting period, spending just under $200 on campaign services. Overall, he’s brought in only over $26,000 and has spent nearly $20,000.
Currently occupying the seat is outgoing state Rep. Rene Garcia, who has endorsed Diaz, his fellow Republican.
