Dane Eagle raises $129K, spends $170K running Congressional campaign amid pandemic

eagle
Eagle went from Legislative Session into pandemic response.

Cape Coral Republican pulled in nearly $130,000 more for his Congressional campaign account. But so far in 2020, he’s spending money quicker than he’s raising it.

His campaign reported a total of $102,400 in donations from individuals in the first quarter of 2020. On top of that, the state lawmaker pulled in $27,000 in PAC donations. The six-figure haul keeps him in the top tier of candidates in a crowded field in Florida’s 19th Congressional District.

The new year delivered extraordinary circumstances. Eagle, now the Republican Leader in the Florida House, spent much of the quarter in Session and came home to a pandemic.

Eagle reported $170,686 in expenditures for the quarter, and $218,444 thus far for the election cycle.

He closed the quarter with $334,051 in cash on hand. That’s a little less than the $375,337 he had when December came to a close.

Eagle has been using his campaign funds to host tele-town hall events on COVID-19 and promoting food drives.

The state lawmaker remains one of several current office-holders seeking the open Congressional seat.

Rep. Byron Donalds, who entered the Republican field in January, raised some $335,000 in the first quarter of 2020.

Eagle also outraised Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen reporting around $80,000 in new contributions.

But there’s also a number of self-funder outsiders in the contest. And the district in the past has chosen such candidates over established names before, notably including outgoing Rep. Francis Rooney.

Fast food mogul Casey Askar, who jumped in the race just 11 days before the end of the quarter, reported around $500,000 in donations and put in a $3 million candidate loan.

Dr. William Figlesthaler raised about $152,000 in the quarter and put another $650,000 loan into the race, bringing his self-funding over $1 million.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [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