Ryan Nicol
Democratic Rep. Shevrin Jones is mounting a massive final push in his bid for a Senate seat, spending more than $128,000 in the closing financial period for the Senate District 35 primary.
Jones is part of a six-person field competing for the Democratic nomination in SD 35.
Jones’ campaign spent nearly $53,000 in the final reporting period covering Aug. 1-13. That’s after raising more than $380,000 through his campaign alone.
His PC, Florida Strong Finish, showed another $125,000 in expenditures. Just over $50,000 of that pot was designated as political contributions to other groups. The remaining $75,000 went toward his SD 35 campaign.
Jones paid Calvin Park Strategies around $48,000 during the period for mail media consulting and other campaign expenses. Nearly $19,000 went to MDW Communications for digital services.
Jones’ accounts still hold around $94,000. Should he win Tuesday’s primary, he’ll face write-in candidate Darien Hill in the general election, a likely easy win.
Also battling for the Democratic nod are former Sen. Daphne Campbell, former firefighter Wilbur Harbin, Miami Gardens City Councilman Erhabor Ighodaro, former Rep. Cynthia Stafford and outgoing Rep. Barbara Watson.
Ighodaro, the second-best fundraiser in the contest, spent less than $11,000 in the final stretch of the campaign, mostly on outreach and campaign worker expenses.
That total was eclipsed by Campbell, who dropped more than $14,000 during the period on various consulting expenses. A smaller chunk of that pot paid for exposure on South Florida radio stations.
None of the other three candidates eclipsed $3,000 in expenditures as voters prepare to decide the Democratic nominee. That mostly reflects a hierarchy in the race, with Jones appearing to hold an advantage in the contest and Campbell and Ighodaro mounting the most serious challenges otherwise.
The district covers parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties including Miramar, West Park and Miami Gardens. The Democratic primary winner will be heavily favored in the fall, as 61.4% of the district’s registered voters are Democrats.
Candidates and political committees faced a Friday, Aug. 14 deadline to report all financial activity through Aug. 13.
