Janelle Irwin Taylor
Two Hillsborough County Commission races look like they might be landslides based on campaign finance activity. Incumbents Ken Hagan and Stacy White are crushing their opponents in the money battle.
Hagan has raised more than $500,000 in bid against Democrat Angela Birdsong for the District two seat covering north Hillsborough County currently held by Victor Crist. Crist is running for Hagan’s District 5 countywide seat.
North Hillsborough, which includes both rural and suburban areas, is historically conservative and Hagan has won it before. He won that seat in 2002, 2004 and 2008.
Birdsong has raised just $30,000 and has less than $200 remaining in her campaign account.
Hagan isn’t wasting time with infusing his campaign with nickel and dime contributions. Nearly half of his 36 contributions during the last two weeks of September were $1,000, the maximum allowed. Most of his latest campaign haul came from real estate professionals and developers, followed by construction and contracting businesses, engineering and consulting.
All of Birdsong’s contributions came from individual donors, not corporations, groups or business.
Hagan spent $4.300 during the latest campaign reporting period including on advertising with La Gaceta for $231 and various campaign support staff.
Birdsong spent $7,800 with most of that going to Blue Ticket Consulting in St. Petersburg for advertising.
White, the Hillsborough County Commission District 4 incumbent, is also stomping his opposition in campaign cash. The Republican has raised more than $200,000 for his reelection to his highly conservative east and south Hillsborough seat.
Those contributions were largely high dollar with more than half of his 20 contributions during the last two weeks of September at $1,000 each. Not one contribution was less than $100. Checks came largely from real estate and construction and development professionals and businesses.
His Democratic opponent, Andrew Davis, has raised just over $10,000 to date and spent all but $1,100 of that. Davis brought in just $100 during the latest reporting period.
He spent $1,800 on yard signs and printing.
