Kelly Hayes
Republican candidate Danny Burgess had his second highest fundraising period since the start of his campaign, adding to his lead over Democratic opponennt Kathy Lewis as the two compete in a Special Election for Senate District 20.
Burgess brought in $49,950 in contributions from Aug. 22 through Sept. 4. Lewis collected $11,301 — her highest finance report — in that same period.
This follows a slow fundraising period from Burgess, after he managed to raise only $700 the week of the Aug. 18 primary. That same period, Lewis raised $4,216.
Burgess’ main contributors in the most recent report were PACs handing out $1,000 donations, including Florida Conservatives United PAC, Florida Justice PAC and the Florida Police Benevolent Association. Burgess also received $1,000 donations from companies like Allstate Insurance, Dosal Tobacco Corporation and T-Mobile.
Lewis’ donors comprised more than 100 individuals, while Lewis herself gave $274 to her own campaign this period.
Since the start of their respective campaigns, Burgess has raised $272,290 and Lewis $44,036. Lewis has also funded $3,644 from her own pockets.
Currently, the Republican frontrunner has $169,291 cash on hand as the General Election approaches, while Democratic challenger Lewis has about $29,500.
Burgess entered the race with strong party backing, earning several key Republican endorsements. Senate President Designate Wilton Simpson and Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Passidomo, as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody have all endorsed Burgess.
The district, which covers parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties, leans only slightly right. Of the district’s 335,060 registered voters, 120,325 are Republicans and 117,135 are Democrats. The district also has 4,440 third party voters and 93,158 voters with no party affiliation.
The race for Senate District 20 is a Special Election, following the early resignation of Sen. Tom Lee. The seat was not supposed to be up for election until 2022. Lee endorsed Burgess as his successor. Though it’s technically a Special Election, the race will be on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Lee, a vice president of Sabal Homes of Florida, served in the Senate from 1996 to 2006 and returned in 2012. Lee also went up against current candidate Lewis in 2018, where he defeated her by 7 percentage points.
