Ryan Nicol
Former Democratic Rep. Kelly Skidmore is adding more than $10,000 in her bid for House District 81. That’s enough to put her atop the HD 81 field for the second straight reporting period.
Skidmore added that money through her campaign from July 11-17. The Florida Education Association Advocacy Fund donated $1,000 to Skidmore’s campaign. The Florida OB/GYN PAC also added $1,000, as did U.S. Sugar.
That $10,000 haul was enough to top her opponent in the Democratic primary, attorney Michael Weinstein. Weinstein added just $6,200 during the period. U.S. Sugar donated $1,000 to his campaign as well.
Republican candidates Saulis Banionis and Silmo Moura have also qualified in the left-leaning district. Neither candidate reported any money raised from July 11-17 and have consistently trailed the two Democratic contenders in fundraising.
Skidmore has added nearly $55,000 between her campaign and political committee, Floridians for Early Education, since declaring her candidacy in late May.
Weinstein leads her in that metric, as he’s pulled in nearly $57,000 so far. Weinstein has also added $35,000 in self-loans.
The two are virtually tied when it comes to cash on hand. Weinstein has $44,346 still available, while Skidmore retains $44,267.
Skidmore represented parts of Palm Beach County from 2006 to 2010. She also served as a staff member for former U.S. Rep. Ron Klein during his time in the state legislature.
Weinstein launched his legal career with a job at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, eventually becoming a prosecutor. He now runs his own criminal defense firm.
The two are pursuing the seat currently held by Rep. Tina Polsky. She’s now pursuing a Senate seat after swapping over to the Senate District 29 race.
The respective HD 81 party primaries are scheduled for Aug. 18. The district spans parts of Palm Beach County near Lake Okeechobee including Pahokee and Belle Glade.
Candidates and political committees faced a Friday, July 24 deadline to report all financial activity through July 17.
One comment
Larry Gillis, Cape Coral
July 26, 2020 at 7:25 am
The money haul? Is that what these races are all about?
Shame on you.
Larry Gillis, Libertarian
Comments are closed.