Peter Schorsch
Hillsborough County Commission candidate Todd Marks and Tampa state Rep. Jackie Toledo, both Republicans, are holding a fundraising reception Sunday during the first gubernatorial debate.
The joint event is being hosted at the home of Amalie Oil Co. exec Harry Barkett and his wife, Carmen, starting at 7:00 p.m. The invitation for the fundraiser lists a minimum contribution of $500 to attend and says supporters should show up in casual attire.
Marks is running for the Hillsborough County Commission District 7 seat currently held by retiring commissioner Al Higginbotham. Marks overcame a major fundraising gap to defeat Aakash Patel in the Republican primary election, and is set to face off against Democratic nominee Kimberly Overman and Green Party candidate Kim O’Connor in the general.
Marks, a Tampa attorney, currently leads his opponents in fundraising with more than $267,000 raised and a little over $97,000 banked as of Oct. 12. Overman has raised about half that sum, though she finished the most recent reporting period with about $12,000 left to spend. O’Connor has raised $26,000 to date and has about $22,000 on hand.
Toledo, first elected in 2016, represents Hillsborough County’s House District 60 and is up against Democrat Debra Bellanti in the fall. To date, Toledo has raised nearly $296,000 in hard money for her re-election bid and had more than $180,000 on Oct. 12. Bellanti, meanwhile, has cleared $62,000 and had $17,500 in the bank through the same date.
HD 60 is a fairly safe Republican seat. Though it only went narrowly for Trump two years ago, Toledo easily punched her ticket to Tallahassee with a 14-point win over 2016 Democratic nominee David Singer.
The general election is Nov. 6. The fundraiser invitation is below.
