Ana Maria Rodriguez posts big fundraising haul in SD 39

The latest campaign finance reports are an ominous sign for Democrats hoping Rep. Javier Fernandez can flip South Florida’s Senate District 39.

In the most recent reporting periods, Republican Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez raised more than four times as much as Fernandez, with nearly $180,000 added to her campaign and political committee to his $40,369.

The most recent figures leave Rodriguez with more than $672,000 cash on hand, and Fernandez just $252,000.

The fundraising totals are the latest in a series of bad news for Democrats in South Florida.

Earlier this week, Miami-based pollster and Democratic strategist Fernand Amandi released a poll showing Joe Biden lagging behind Hillary Clinton’s performance in Miami-Dade County by 13 points, powered by President Donald Trump winning 47% of Hispanic voters to Biden’s 46%.

Just a few days prior, Democratic Latino research firm Equis Research found a similar trend, showing Biden underperforming Clinton by 11 points among Hispanic voters statewide.

These numbers spell trouble in the Senate District 39 race, which is overwhelmingly Hispanic and nearly 80% contained within Miami-Dade County.

Florida Democrats desperately need Biden to reverse this trend for their down-ballot chances as the state party struggles to make an impact on legislative races.

The FDP has been marred as of late by a litany of problems. They continue to struggle with the fallout of a potentially fraudulent drawdown of a PPP loan, as Republicans begin to launch attacks over it in battleground races.

Internal emails from Democratic strategists recently warned that FDP’s House race arm is failing to significantly help its candidates.

And, Miami Democratic Sen. Annette Taddeo went on record this week to say that forewarnings about the Trump-Republican surge among Hispanics have been casually dismissed by party strategists.

Meanwhile, the Republican leaders in both the state House and Senate continue to ramp up their better-funded, well-oiled, and historically successful machines in legislative races across the state.

While there are still just over seven weeks until Election Day, state-level Republicans in Florida appear to be outrunning their Democratic counterparts as they seek to retain a firm grip on the Florida legislature.