Scott Powers
Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy added another $602,000 to her reelection campaign and spent less than a third of that much in August and September, according to the latest federal campaign finance reports.
That keeps the campaign for Murphy, a two-term congresswoman from Winter Park, in far better financial position for a stretch drive than her Republican challenger in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, Leo Valentin.
Valentin, an Orlando radiologist and businessman, had a good two-month period ending Sept. 30. Still, he managed to collect just over half as much as Murphy, and his campaign spent nearly that much during August and September, according to the latest reports posted by the Federal Elections Commission.
Valentin added $325,611 in new money and his campaign spent $298,388 since the July 31 financial reports. That left him with $211,998 in the bank on Oct. 1. Overall, he has raised $822,084 for his campaign.
Murphy’s take for August and September was $602,237, and her campaign spent $186,719. On Oct. 1, her campaign still had $1.7 million left to spend. Overall, she has raised $2.7 million for her campaign.
CD 7 covers Seminole County and parts of northern, eastern, and southern Orange County. For the 2020 election, Democrats hold a 5-point advantage in voter registration.
The latest reports show that Murphy’s campaign continues to collect campaign money about evenly from individual contributors and from political action committees.
The $257,823 she received from PACs in August and September included $5,000 checks from unions, corporations, and business committees.
The Air Line Pilots Association gave her $5,000, as did the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Association of Letter Carriers. At the same time, she got $5,000 checks from Wendy’s restaurants PAC, Duke Energy, and the Brown-Forman Corp., as well as from PACs representing the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the National Automobile Dealers Association, the National Muti-family Housing Association, and the Internet and Television Association.
Walmart Stores, the Environmental Defense Fund, Pacific Life, Flagstar Bank, Humana, and a group called Blue Wave Political Partners also donated generously to her campaign in the period.
Valentin received $13,300 in PAC money during the two months.
