Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio shows scant fundraising in CD 27 race
Enrique Tarrio faces hard time.

Enrique Tarrio
Those totals were so low, he wasn't even required to report to the FEC.

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right self-labeled “Western chauvinist” group the Proud Boys, says he’s raised less than $5,000 since entering the race for Florida’s 27th Congressional District in November.

That total was so low, Tarrio was not even required to submit a fundraising report to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The Tarrio campaign confirmed that reality in a document submitted to the FEC.

“This Committee has not yet exceeded the $5,000 reporting threshold that would trigger the Committee’s reporting responsibilities under the Act.”

Tarrio is running as a Republican. He’s competing against former broadcaster Maria Elvira Salazar for the GOP nomination.

Federal candidates faced a Jan. 31 deadline to report all financial activity through the end of 2019. But because Tarrio’s campaign has been so inactive on the fundraising front, he dodged that requirement, making it unclear how much (or little) money he’s actually raised for his campaign.

In a statement to the Miami New Times, Tarrio said he hasn’t begun actively raising money and has netted “$2,500 to $2,900” in total since declaring his candidacy in November.

That’s an embarrassingly paltry sum compared to his opponents in the contest. During the most recent quarter, Salazar added nearly $365,000. In the prior quarter, Salazar brought in $454,000 in outside money and added a $50,000 loan to her campaign.

Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala, who won CD 27 in 2018, collected $600,000 in the fourth quarter.

It’s not clear whether Tarrio intends to mount a serious campaign or simply use his congressional bid as a promotional tool.

Either way, winning a House seat is an uphill climb for the controversial figure. Proud Boys members have been involved in several acts of public violence, including a 2018 incident in New York City where members were seen assaulting protesters following a speech by the group’s then-leader, Gavin McInnes.

Tarrio has said the men acted in self-defense. But two Proud Boys members were sentenced to four-year prison terms for the attack. The group has also been involved in other violent altercations, such as with the far-left Antifa group, which itself has a history of violence.

Ryan Nicol

Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you'd like to contact him, send an email to [email protected].



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories