Scott Powers
Republican state Rep. Thad Altman raised $2,000 for his re-election effort in the latest reporting period, barely better than Democratic upstart Seeta Begui, who continues to hold a $5,000 lead in the money race that has both House District 52 candidates relatively low on cash.
Altman’s latest donations come after he spent almost all of his campaign money turning back Republican challenger Matt Nye in the Aug. 28 primary, while Begui added $1,420 in the two week period ending Sept. 14, according to the latest reports on file with the Florida Division of Elections. For this full election cycle, Altman, a non-profit executive from Indialantic, has raised more than $70,000 and lent his campaign another $1,000, but that money is almost all gone.
Begui, a nurse from Melbourne, fueled her campaign initially with personal loans that now total $3,550, and otherwise picked up about 80 contributions, mostly from individuals, but all in small checks, since declaring her candidacy in May.
The result gave her about $12,079 in the bank on Sept. 14 heading toward the Nov. 6 showdown, while Altman’s account showed just $7,079 at that point.
In the latest reporting period, from the primary through Sept. 14, reported last Friday, Begui reported collecting 19 small checks, all from individuals living in the district or nearby along Florida’s central Atlantic coast. Altman picked up three $500 checks from Tallahassee political action committees and another $500 check from a Melbourne tire store.
HD 52 covers south Brevard County.
