Ryan Nicol
The Vern Buchanan campaign announced it would be reporting a haul of $500,000 raised during the third quarter. That would leave the campaign’s cash on hand at more than $1.4 million.
Buchanan, the Republican incumbent in Florida’s 16th Congressional District, has kept up a cash lead over his Democratic challenger, David Shapiro. It’s not clear where Shapiro stands against Buchanan’s updated numbers. The reports are not due to the Federal Election Commission until later this month.
Shapiro did manage to outraise Buchanan in the previous reporting period. However, Shapiro may have been aided by his competition in the Democratic primary against Jan Schneider. Buchanan was unopposed on the Republican side.
If Buchanan can hold onto his fundraising lead, that would leave him sitting pretty as we approach Election Day on Nov. 6. A recent pair of polls have shown Buchanan with a sizable lead against Shapiro. Add in a money advantage and it would be an uphill climb to unseat the incumbent.
The two candidates have recently traded barbs in dueling ads over recent red tide outbreaks. Buchanan’s spot touted his work on combating the crisis, while Shapiro hit him for not doing enough.
