Charlie Crist raises $300K in Q2, has $3.1M on hand

Image via AP.

U.S. Rep. Charle Crist raised more than $300,000 in the second quarter of 2020, his campaign announced Monday.

The latest earnings, brought in April 1 through June 30, bring his overall cash on hand to $3.1 million.

“Our nation is facing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19, so my focus remains on the constituent service and leadership that Pinellas County voters deserve,” Crist said in a statement. “I’m very grateful for the continued outpouring of support to our campaign because it allows us to focus on the people’s work and leave politics until the fall.”

Crist is unopposed in the Democratic primary, but faces an onslaught of potential challenges from a crowded Republican field.

While the Cook Report rates FL-13 as “solid blue,” the GOP is aggressively challenging his incumbency.

Former U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski health advisor Amanda Makki is leading the field of five Republican candidates for Florida’s 13th Congressional District both in a recent poll and in overall fundraising.

Makki announced earlier this month she raised more than $1 million for the race. She also polled far ahead of the rest of the pack in a St. Pete Polls survey last week.

She polled at 28% support, trailed by George Buck with 21% and Anna Paulina Luna with 13%. Sheila Griffin brought in just 4% while Sharon Newby, a political newcomer, garnered just 2%.

Buck ran unsuccessfully against Crist in 2018.

Crist won the seat in 2016 after redistricting reshaped the district to include parts of downtown and south St. Petersburg, liberal hotbeds in Pinellas County. The new lines shifted the district from a Republican-leaning district to one safely favoring Democrats.