Ryan Nicol
Republican candidate Frank Mingo held on to his cash lead over Democratic opponent Cindy Polo, according to the latest reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections.
The two are competing to replace Manny Diaz in House District 103.
After pulling in $16,250 Oct. 13-19, Mingo has just over $30,000 on hand. That compares to just over $12,000 for Polo, who earned $2,605 during the same period.
Mingo amassed several $1,000 donations from various interest groups, such as the Miccosukee Tribe, NBCUniversal, the Florida Medical Association and the GEO Group.
Polo’s contributions were mostly from smaller donors, giving between $10 and $250. She did receive a pair of $1,000 donations as well. One came from The Florida Education Association Advocacy Fund, while the other was given by a data scientist in California.
Polo actually did outraise Mingo during the previous reporting period, earning more than $16,000 to Mingo’s $12,400.
Mingo has also been blowing through his available cash in the closing weeks of the campaign, dropping more than $76,000 since Oct. 6. Polo has spent just over $16,000.
For Mingo, more than $52,000 was spent between Oct. 13 and Oct. 19. The campaign spent $25,000 of that on buying TV time, with an additional $3,000 going toward production of TV ads.
Mingo also dropped more than $13,000 on a direct mail campaign.
Polo spent more than $6,000 during the same period, with $2,900 going toward canvassing costs and another $3,100 going toward mailers.
Mingo is also boosted by a political committee he chairs called Keep Government Accountable (KGA). That group brought in $5,000 from Oct. 13 to 19 and spent nearly $10,000. The committee maintains nearly $17,000 cash on hand.
HD 103 has been represented by Diaz, a Republican, since 2012. Diaz is now running for the state Senate in District 36.
Diaz did face a tough challenge in 2016, however. He held on to his seat by just over 5 percentage points, defeating his Democratic opponent, Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich.
That 5-point gap could be closed if Democratic turnout ramps up big this cycle. But Polo will need to overcome Mingo’s deep pockets to do it.
