Ryan Nicol
Democratic Rep. Shevrin Jones dropped another $15,000 as he seeks a shift to the Senate.
Jones is one of six Democrats competing for the Senate District 35 seat. The latest expense reports — which cover July 25-31 — show Jones’ PC, Florida Strong Finish, spending $5,500 for mail media consulting. The Jones campaign sent more than $3,000 to Diversity Strategy Group for consulting services. Another $844 went toward automated call expenses. The vast remainder of the campaign’s expenditures were set aside for field work.
Jones has been the best fundraiser in the field so far. His campaign added more than $11,500 during the most recent one-week reporting period. His PC netted $64,500, but shipped $50,000 of that out as a donation to the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
Even after deducting that $50,000 transfer, Jones still came out with more than $21,000 for the week. Miami Gardens City Councilman Erhabor Ighodaro placed second in the field with nearly $9,800 raised between his campaign and his PC, Reignbow Family Values.
Ighodaro’s campaign spent $2,800 with Marin and Sons for campaign communications. Another $850 went toward printing costs. Ighodaro’s PC racked up nearly $2,500 in voter outreach expenses.
Also competing for the Democratic nomination are former Sen. Daphne Campbell, former firefighter Wilbur Harbin, former Rep. Cynthia Stafford and outgoing Rep. Barbara Watson.
All four have remained well behind Jones’ fundraising pace. Harbin, Stafford and Watson didn’t spend much in the most recent reporting period. Campbell’s latest reports have not yet been posted, though candidates faced a Friday, Aug. 7 deadline to report all financial activity through July 31.
Jones still has $151,000 on hand heading into the final stretch of the primary campaign. The Aug. 18 Democratic primary will not fully decide the race, as write-in candidate Darien Hill has also qualified in the contest. However, the winner of the Democratic primary will be heavily favored in the left-leaning district.
Ighodaro holds just $21,000 in cash on hand going forward. Stafford holds around $11,000. Harbin has just under $3,800 remaining while Watson has spent all her cash thus far.
Campbell is sitting on less than $20,000 as of July 24.
SD 35 covers parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties including Miramar, West Park and Miami Gardens.
