Kelly Hayes
Incumbent Republican Jackie Toledo will start her General Election campaign with $59,500 more than Democratic challenger Julie Jenkins as the two battle for House District 60.
Toledo, the incumbent Republican, finished the most recent period, which spanned Aug. 14 through Aug. 21, with about $140,930 cash on hand, while Jenkins left with $81,430. The recent period covered the week of the August Primary Election, which was on Aug. 18.
Toledo raised $13,240 in the most recent reporting period, and spent $8,588. Jenkins raised $6,122 in the same period, but did not have any expenditures.
Donors to Toledo’s campaign this period include Florida Farmers and Ranchers United PAC, which gave $1,000, as well as the Florida HIV AIDS PAC, which also gave $1,000.
Jenkins’s primary contributors were made up of several dozen individuals.
So far, Toledo has led the race in fundraising, collecting $329,255 since the start of her campaign in January, 2019. Jenkins, on the other hand, has raised $99,749 since she launched her campaign this January.
With higher fundraising numbers, Toledo has spent about 10 times more than Jenkins — the incumbent has spent $188,320, compared to Jenkins’ $18,319.
Jenkins will have a tough battle on her hands against Toledo, who has served as a popular Republican in the Legislature, and who has become known for working across the aisle. During the 2019 Legislative Session, Toledo successfully brokered a texting while driving ban that make it a primary offense. This year, Toledo worked with Democrats to add LGBT protections into the Florida Competitive Workforce Act, an effort that failed despite bipartisan support.
Toledo was first elected to the HD 60 seat in 2016. In 2018, she was reelected with 52% of the vote, while Democratic opponent Debra Bellanti took 48% of the vote — a margin of about 3,650 votes.
House District 60 is made up of 128,590 voters, and covers South Hillsborough County. The district has 48,310 Republicans and 43,612 Democrats — Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 4,700 voters. The district has just under 2,000 third-party voters, and 34,675 voters with no party affiliation.
