Drew Wilson
Sen. Travis Hutson has sent some backup to Senate candidates across the state.
In September, the St. Augustine Republican pumped nearly $100,000 to the campaign and committee accounts of fellow Republicans running for open seats in the chamber.
The money came from one of Hutson’s political committees, Sunshine State Conservatives.
The biggest beneficiaries were former Rep. Jason Brodeur and current Reps. Ray Rodrigues and Ana Maria Rodriguez, each of whom received a $25,000 transfer to their own political committees.
Brodeur, of Sanford, is the lone GOP contender for Senate District 9, currently held by term-limited Republican Sen. David Simmons. The district has a Republican lean and Brodeur, who exited the House last year, has amassed nearly $500,000 for his campaign fund.
His political committee, Friends of Jason Brodeur, had $440,000 on hand at the end of last month. Of the $494,000 he’s raised through his campaign, he has $217,000 in the bank.
Rodrigues has been even more successful on the fundrasising front.
The Estero lawmaker has not yet filed his September reports, but at the end of August he had $215,000 in hard money in the bank. His primary political committee, Free Markets for Florida, finished September with $1.03 million on hand, while his less-established fund, Friends of Ray Rodrigues, had about $33,000 in the bank at the end of August.
Rodrigues is currently the only candidate for Senate District 27, the Republican leaning district currently held by term-limited Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto.
Rodriguez is running to replace term-limited Sen. Anitere Flores in Senate District 39. She had about $155,000 on hand in her committee, Ethics and Honesty in Government, at the end of August, with nearly the same amount in her campaign account.
Hutson’s committee also cut checks $10,000 checks to the committee accounts of former Rep. Jim Boyd and Senate Budget Chief Rob Bradley.
Boyd is seeking to take over Senate District 21, the seat currently held by term-limited Senate President Bill Galvano. Bradley is also term-limited, though his wife, Jennifer Bradley, is looking to succeed him in Senate District 5.
The funds come as Hutson competes to take over as Senate President in 2022, following Trilby Sen. Wilton Simpson.
His main competitor in the leadership race is Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who will put on a fundraiser in her Naples-based district for all five candidates Hutson helped out last month. Galvano and Simpson are also on the host committee for the Oct. 28 event.
