Drew Wilson
Second-quarter fundraising reports are in, but the pecking order remains mostly unchanged in the Republican primary for Florida’s 3rd Congressional District.
Ten candidates are competing for the GOP nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho in the North Central Florida district, making it Florida’s most crowded primary race this cycle.
Leading the pack is physician James St. George, who added just over $500,000 to his campaign account between April 1 and June 30. Heading into July, he had about $635,000 in the bank.
Most of that cash came from St. George himself. He followed up his $200,000 loan in Q1 with a $400,000 loan last quarter. To date, he has raised $336,291 from donors.
Clay County businessman Judson Sapp followed with $486,000 on hand. He has also staked his campaign with his own money, lending the account $250,000 in the first quarter and did so again in the second quarter. Including loans, $746,103 has been deposited in his campaign account and about $487,000 remained on July 30.
Kat Cammack, a former Yoho staffer, was in No. 3 at the deadline. She raised just under $255,000 over the past three months — all of it from donors — and ended the quarter with about $330,000 left to spend. To date, the Cammack campaign has raised $461,892, including $20,000 in loans.
In fourth place was former Gainesville City Commissioner Todd Chase. His report showed $150,299 in contributions and $98,390 in spending, leaving him with $188,497 in the tank heading into the final six weeks of the primary campaign. His total is not bolstered by any candidate loans.
Rising up the ranks last quarter was Clay County businesswoman Amy Pope Wells. She went from a little over $10,000 in the bank on March 31 to $140,000 on hand on June 30. The increase was fueled by $161,984 in contributions in the second quarter and a fairly light $21,513 in spending.
The only other candidate to enter the final stretch with more than $100,000 left to spend was Clay County Commissioner Gavin Rollins, who tallied about $64,000 in contributions and spent $36,030. The report was sluggish compared to his first, though that report had the benefit of a $50,000 candidate loan. He started July with $128,000 on hand.
Ryan Chamberlin is the last GOP contender with a substantive balance. He finished the reporting period with about $67,000 on hand. In the second quarter he raised $46,160 and spent $80,421. To date the author and speaker has raised $121,253 from donors and chipped in $30,000 of his own money.
Bill Engelbrecht, Joe Dallas Millado and David Theus will also appear on the Aug. 18 Republican primary ballot, though all either trail considerably or have not yet turned in their second-quarter report.
CD 3 covers Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Putnam and Union counties as well as part of Marion. It is a safe Republican seat that became open this cycle after Yoho who made good on his promise to term limit himself out of office.
