Janelle Irwin Taylor
Rock ‘n’ roll diva Joan Jett is putting her cash behind Jennifer Webb in the Democrats bid to replace Kathleen Peters for the House District 69 seat covering mid and west Pinellas County.
While it’s not much — $150 total — Jett’s contribution lends a headline-grabbing name to Webb’s comparatively uninspired list of donors.
Webb took to Facebook to tout her star-studded contribution using Jett’s “bad@$$” reputation to encourage others to donate.
Despite her moment of fame, Webb is still lagging about $50,000 behind her opponent, Ray Blacklidge. Webb has raised about $327,000 as of October 12, the most up to date reports available. Most of that is from Webb’s campaign coffers, but her PAC, Putting Community First, has raised $33,000 including $3,900 from October 6-12.
Webb has more cash on hand than her opponent. Between her campaign and affiliated committee, Webb has about $147,000 left to rally through the final two weeks of campaigning. Blacklidge has a little more than $100,000 left in his two campaign accounts, including his committee, Friends of Ray Blacklidge.
Webb outraised Blacklidge during the latest financial reporting period. She raised $12,000 for her campaign compared to Blacklidge’s $7,150. However, Blacklidge’s committee continues to outperform Webb’s. He took in $11,000 on the latest report compared to Webb’s $3,900.
Webb took in 38 total contributions, including the one from Jett, averaging about $263 each.
Almost all of Blacklidge’s funds raised this report were top-dollar, $1,000 contributions from out-of-state donors. Only one came from a St. Petersburg resident.
Webb spent about $19,000 during the latest campaign period. Most of that went to Parsons Wilson for campaign consulting.
Blacklidge spent about $7,000 during the latest reporting period including $2,900 to Snitker & Associates for campaign consulting.
Webb and Blacklidge are tied up in a heated battle to replace Peters, who is not seeking reelection to run for Pinellas County Commission.
Outside spending groups are pushing Blacklidge, the conservative in the race. A recent television ad made false claims about Webb raking in donations from special interest groups. While she has accepted contributions from those sources, she has not collected nearly as much as the ad claimed.
