Staff Reports
Sen. Ben Albritton pulled in more than $400,000 through his political committee between Dec. 1 and March 1, finance reports show.
The committee, Advancing Florida Agriculture, began the three-month stretch with $10,000 raised in December. The money came in via a pair of $5,000 checks — one from lobbying firm Hopping Green & Sams and another from dialysis company DaVita.
The Wauchula Republican followed up with $17,000 raised in January. That haul came from four donors. Motorola Solutions, political committee A Stronger Florida and lobbying firm Larry J. Overton & Associates pitched in $5,000 each. The other $2,000 came from the Council Of Florida Family Practice & Community Teaching Hospitals.
Albritton’s fundraising went into overdrive last month, with newly filed reports showing $216,500 raised.
There were 33 contributions on the donor sheet. The top contributors, both at the $20,000 level, were the Bellini Family Office and Floridian’s United for Our Children’s Future, a political committee connected to the Associated Industries of Florida.
The committee pulled in $10,000 checks from 10 other donors, including FCCI Services, JM Family Enterprises, Florida Blue, The Vestcor Companies and AIF’s self-titled PAC. Showing up in the $5,000 bracket were PepsiCo, Comcast, Florida Internet & Television as well as lobbying firms Gunster and Converge Government Affairs of Florida.
The three months add up to $243,500, but those with knowledge of the committee’s fundraising tell Florida Politics that Advancing Florida Agriculture will report an additional $157,500 raised in March — an impressive tally considering lawmakers are prohibited from raising money during Session, which started on March 2.
Currently available reports show the committee finished February with just shy of $350,000 in the bank.
Albritton served four terms in the House before launching a successful bid for Senate District 26 in the 2018 cycle. The heavily Republican district covers all of DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Highlands and Okeechobee counties as well as parts of Charlotte, Lee and Polk counties.
As of now, Albritton is running for reelection to the heartland seat. He has raised $39,250 since filing for reelection in May 2019 and has about $22,200 in the bank. No other candidates have filed for SD 26.
