Drew Wilson
Leo Valentin added more than $120,000 to his campaign account during the second quarter, building his lead in the Republican primary for Florida’s 7th Congressional District.
In a news release, the campaign said it had cleared $460,000 in total fundraising as of June 30. Valentin’s campaign didn’t state whether the new funds were all from donors or included candidate loans, though it did take some jabs at incumbent U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy.
“I’m honored by the support our campaign has received, and we’ll continue working to ensure we win the Republican primary to take on Stephanie Murphy in the general election,” Valentin said.
“Stephanie Murphy tries to claim she’s a moderate Democrat, but she went Washington on day one and has been a loyal foot soldier for Nancy Pelosi ever since. The real divide in this country isn’t party affiliation. It’s the powerful governing elite versus hardworking Americans. Unfortunately, Stephanie Murphy has forgotten Central Florida and become a part of the D.C. swamp.”
Through the first quarter, Valentin had raised about $211,000 and lent his campaign another $131,000. The account had $276,000 on hand on March 31.
Valentin’s rivals for the Republican nomination have not managed to catch up to his first-quarter total. Yukong Zhao reported $223,000 raised and $84,000 in the bank through June 30, and Richard Goble is showing $132,000 raised and $10,500 banked through the same date.
All trail Murphy. Her Q2 numbers are still pending, but she had raised more than $1.75 million and had $1.3 million on hand at the end of the first quarter.
Valentin’s fundraising announcement comes a day after he became the first CD 7 candidate to hit the airwaves with a TV ad blaming American chaos on “extreme liberals” and vowing to stand with President Donald Trump if elected.
CD 7 covers Seminole County and parts of northern, eastern, and central Orange County. It has a Democratic lean.
