Jacob Ogles
Bradenton Republican Jim Boyd boasted a six-figure haul in October for his state Senate campaign .
The former state Representative reported $107,900 in new donations in the month. That represents more than two thirds of cash he’s raised since filing in August in Senate District 21.
Minus spending by the campaign so far, Boyd holds $146,333 in cash on hand with just about a year until the 2020 election.
Meanwhile Democrat Amanda Linton raised $2,662 in October, bringing her total amount raised to $6,585. She holds $2,019 in cash on hand.
Boyd pulled in substantial amounts from Tallahassee-based committees and from a number of business groups based in Southwest Florida.
A number of professional groups wrote $1,000 checks, including the Beer Distributor’s Committee, Action for Behavioral Healthcare, Florida Bankers Association PAC, Florida Homebuilders Association and Florida Hospital Association.
An insurance agent, Boyd also saw maximum-amount checks come in from Florida Agents For Insurance Reform, Financial Reform in Government, and the Florida Association of Motorists.
Individual companies donating $1,000 each included U.S. Sugar, World Omni Financial, Geico, Comcast and West Coast Tomato, representing a range of industries.
Regional powers like the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange and Sarasota-based insurance giant FCCI also gave big to Boyd.
Two political committees controlled by Ray Rodrigues, a state Representative running for another open Senate seat, gave Boyd $1,000 each.
Influential Southwest Florida individuals like developer Pat Neal, former state Sen. Lisa Carlton and Sarasota Charter Review Board member Richard Dorfman can all also be found on Boyd’s list of donors.
Linton, meanwhile, pulled in her money entirely from small donors. The Hillsborough County educator saw five donations from 10 fellow teachers and 11 retirees.
The two candidates to date remain the only ones filed. Senate President Bill Galvano currently represents the district, where he ran unopposed in 2016.
