Drew Wilson
Florida Democrats outraised Republicans last month, but trail by millions in cash on hand, new reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission show.
The Democratic Executive Committee of Florida brought in $1.21 million across 500 contributions last month. The party raised half again more than it did in May, when it reported $829,000 in receipts, though it finished June with less money in the bank.
The declining balance stems from nearly $1.35 million in spending, including $215,000 in transfers to the Florida Democratic Party’s non-federal account; $112,000 to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida for health insurance premiums; $65,500 for mailers from Mission Control, Inc.; and $55,000 to 76 Words for digital media services.
Heading into July, the account had about $495,000 in the bank, down from $893,000 heading into June. The committee also had $913,000 in debts, putting it in the red overall.
Also of note, the federal account doesn’t list any loan repayments for the Paycheck Protection Program funds it received last month.
The PPP loans have been a source of controversy the last couple of weeks after federal data on the coronavirus relief program revealed the at least $780,000 in loans from the program that it had criticized for a lack of accountability. Florida Politics was the first to report the state party obtained the loan.
PPP provides loans to businesses and nonprofits so long as most of the money is used to keep workers in their jobs. Though the Small Business Administration approved the party’s loan application, the program was not intended to fund political groups.
Earlier this month, the party said it would return the money.
The Republican Party of Florida Federal Account brought in $720,000 in June, just over half of what Florida Democrats raised and about $110,000 less than the Florida GOP managed in May.
Like its Democratic counterpart, more money flowed out of the account than into it. Much of the $866,000 in expenditures went toward payroll — operating expenditures accounted for $351,000 of the total spend.
At the end of the reporting period the account had nearly $4.13 million on hand, a tad under the $4.27 million it had in the bank at the end of May.
