Drew Wilson
Rep. Clay Yarborough had more than $400,000 on hand when the 2021 Legislative Session started, forcing lawmakers to put their fundraising efforts on hold.
The Jacksonville Republican is one of three sitting Representatives vying to succeed term-limited Sen. Aaron Bean in Senate District 5. He faces Reps. Cord Byrd and Jason Fischer in the GOP primary.
Last month Yarborough raised $24,785 through his campaign account and another $44,850 raised through his political committee, Floridians for Conservative Values.
Recognizable committee donors included Comcast and Gunster. Also chipping in were political committees Floridians for a Stronger Democracy, chaired by Ryan Tyson of the Associated Industries of Florida, and Growing Florida’s Future, which has ties to former House Speaker and current lobbyist Steve Crisafulli.
The fundraising report for the campaign side is not yet viewable on the Florida Division of Elections website.
That follows up on a $110,000 haul posted in January. As in February, most of that haul came in through his committee account. Perhaps most impressive, however, are the preliminary numbers for March.
Since the Legislative Session started on March 2, lawmakers were afforded one day to fundraise this month. According to numbers shared with Florida Politics, Yarborough made it count — his campaign took in $11,150 and his committee added $44,850 for a single-day total of $56,000.
All told, the campaign touts $71,885 raised since New Year’s and another $166,850 piled on through the committee for a combined $238,735 raised in 2021. The two accounts have more than $400,000 in the bank.
The SD 5 race is shaping up to be an expensive one. The fundraising update from the Yarborough campaign was preceded by one from Fischer, who entered Session with nearly $900,000 in the bank between his campaign and political committee, Friends of Jason Fischer.
SD 4 is a Republican-leaning seat covering all of Nassau County and most of Duval County except for the central portion contained within neighboring SD 6. Yarborough currently represents House District 12, which covers a portion of Duval County that overlaps with SD 4.
Depending on how reapportionment shakes out, it’s possible that the three lawmakers won’t all be competing for the same seat.
