Drew Wilson- 2018 election
- 2018 legislative races
- 2018 state Senate races
- Building the Bay
- Building the Bay PC
- campaign fundraiser
- Campaign fundraising
- Carmen Barkett
- Dana Young
- Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee
- Friends of Dana Young
- FRSCC
- fundraiser
- fundraising
- Harry Barkett
- Janet Cruz
- Jeff Vinik
- Penny Vinik
- SD 18
- Senate District 18
Amalie Oil Co. exec Harry Barkett and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik will help boost Republican state Sen. Dana Young’s re-election bid with a fundraising reception in Tampa this week.
The Tuesday evening event will be held at the home of Barkett and his wife, Carmen, while Vinik’s wife, Penny, is also listed on the host committee. Supporters interested in attending the event, slated to run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., can RSVP with Kristin Lamb by emailing [email protected] or calling 850-339-5354.
Young was elected to Senate District 18 in 2016, but due to Florida courts approving new maps for the Florida Senate she and other Senators in even-numbered districts were only elected to two-year terms.
She is facing a tough challenge from House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, who shelved her Hillsborough County Commission bid to enter the Senate race in mid-April. The most recent poll of the race shows Cruz with a slim advantage in the northwestern Hillsborough district, which covers much of Tampa. Prior polls have shown the two women jockeying in the purple district.
The Florida Democratic Party sees SD 18 as one of its top targets for a flip. Other than South Florida’s SD 36, where David Perez won the Democratic primary to challenge Republican state Rep. Manny Diaz, SD 18 is the only district Democrats are after that voted for Hillary Clinton two years ago.
Young has vastly outraised Cruz, however, and the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, the PAC chaired by incoming Senate President Bill Galvano, has much deeper pockets than the equivalent fundraising arm supporting Democratic state Senate campaigns.
As of Oct. 5, Cruz had raised about $934,000 between her campaign account and affiliated political committee, Building the Bay PC, with about $115,000 of that cash banked due to a spree of media buys and contributions to the Florida Democratic Party, which has provided her campaign with a large amount of “in-kind” support.
Young has amassed $870,000 in hard money and still has $600,000 of that money in the bank. Young formed her PAC, Friends of Dana Young, well before the 2018 election cycle, but had another $600,000 in that account at the end of the early October reporting period. Like her opponent, much of her committee cash has been funneled to the FRSCC.
The fundraiser invitation is below.
