Kelly Hayes
Incumbent Democrat Jennifer Webb now has a $165,418 cash on hand lead over opponent Linda Chaney after a record campaign fundraising period as the two compete for Florida House District 69.
The incumbent’s $37,526 haul this period, which spanned Sept. 19 through Oct. 2, surpasses her previous record reached in the report prior at $30,770. Republican challenger Chaney raised $4,535 in the same span, a relatively good period for her campaign, which usually musters around $500 to $2,000, but falls short in the finance race against Webb.
So far, Webb has dominated in campaign fundraising, collecting a total of $283,942 since the start of her campaign, while Chaney has brought in $54,371.
Webb and Chaney have also started to amp up spending as the General Election inches closer, with the Democrat also having her highest spending period in the latest report.
This period, Webb dished out a campaign record $35,368, primarily spending on TV advertising and consulting. Chaney spent $4,618 this period, about half going to several individuals filed as “campaign support” under her expenditures.
This period’s spending leaves Webb with $196,071 cash on hand, and Chaney with $30,653.
As far as donors, Webb’s contributors were made up of about 150 individuals and about a dozen PACs, including several $1,o00 donations from organizations like Florida Alliance for Better Government, Florida Beer Wholesalers PAC and Florida’s Right to Know PAC. Webb also received donations from several local unions.
Chaney had about a dozen contributors this period, including about five individuals and several businesses and PACs, which include Focused on Florida’s Future PAC, Citizens for Principled Leadership and Conservatives for Principled Leadership.
The last two periods follow a previous high in which Chaney brought in $30,770 — including a $25,000 contribution from the Florida Republican Party.
Webb flipped the seat blue in 2018. She received 53% of the vote to Republican opponent Raymond Blacklidge’s 47% — a margin of about 4,200 voters — replacing Republican Kathleen Peters. Peters held the district from 2012 to 2018. She stepped down to run for Pinellas County Commission, where she now serves. Webb unsuccessfully challenged Peters in 2016.
Recent polling shows Webb with a seven-point lead over her Republican challenger this year for HD 69. In a St. Pete Polls survey, Webb leads Chaney, with 48% of the vote compared to just 41% for Chaney.
The district, which covers the Southwest coast of Pinellas County, including Gulfport, west St. Pete, and the southern Gulf beaches, has a razor-thin edge for Republicans. Of the district’s 122,157 registered voters, 43,728 are Republicans, and 43,563 are Democrats. Another 33,141 have no party affiliation, and the remaining 1,725 are registered with a third party.
