A.G. Gancarski
State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an East Orlando Democrat representing House District 49, will fundraise in Jacksonville Tuesday evening, in another sign of his increasing prominence statewide.
The event will be in the tony Avondale neighborhood, hosted by Kevin Clair, the husband of local state House hopeful Tracye Polson.
Clair and Polson have become increasingly prominent this cycle, aggressively fundraising and self-funding in an effort to flip the House District 15 seat currently held by Republican Jay Fant.
Smith’s host committee is helmed by yet another state Representative, HD 13’s Tracie Davis, who was unopposed for re-election.
Smith had roughly $83,000 in his campaign account as of Oct. 5. Ben Griffin, his Republican opponent, has just under $46,000 on hand.
Griffin’s campaign has been mostly funded by the Republican Party of Florida, which doled out $50,000 in June.
Since that disbursement, his fundraising has been erratic: his last reported fundraising was over a month ago, when he collected $7,000 from a group of political committees, including those of Northeast Florida powerbrokers.
Sen. Travis Hutson‘s Sunshine State Conservatives and Rep. Paul Renner‘s Florida Foundation for Liberty each cut $1,000 checks.
Rep. Smith is in little danger of defeat. His district is 41 percent Democrat, 26 percent Republican, with the remaining third of voters independent or registered to a third party.
