Scott Powers
Republican House candidate Rachel Plakon raised just over $5,000 in April, pushing her four-month campaign in House District 29 over the $100,000 mark.
Plakon, of Lake Mary, is setting a money pace greater than any her husband, Republican Rep. Scott Plakon, ever managed in his previous seven House elections, the last four in HD 29.
In April, she picked up two $1,000 checks, including one from the Florida Psychological Association, continuing a strong reliance on those maximum donations. Since she entered the race in mid-January, Plakon has attracted 70 of those checks from organizations and individuals.
She also has an independent political committee, Friends of Rachel Plakon, which has raised another $54,600, though none in April.
HD 29 has been the scene of two close, intensely fought elections in the past two cycles, both won by Scott Plakon over Democrat Tracey Kagan. So far, no Democrats have filed to run there in the 2022 election.
The suburban Orlando district covers western Seminole County and has steadily trended from solid red to purple in the past decade or so.
In the vast majority of Central Florida legislative districts, incumbents are seeking reelection, and they were barred from raising money in April during the Legislative Session. The few challengers in those districts also appeared to be taking the month of April off from raising campaign money.
There are two other House districts where no incumbent is running, and one of those is seeing significant money pouring into campaigns, House District 32, where Republican Rep. Anthony Sabatini is running for Congress rather than for reelection. HD 32 covers most of Lake County, except for northeastern Lake. Republicans have a strong advantage in voter registration.
Republican Taylor Yarkosky of Montverde continues to command fundraising there. Yarkosky raised $15,250 in April, giving him $60,300 raised in less than two months on the trail. As with Plakon, Yarkosky is finding a lot of people and organizations wanting to invest big in his campaign. His total is built on 45 $1,000 checks.
Another Republican running in HD 32, Matthew Silbernagel of Winter Garden, raised $11,690 in April to kick off his HD 32 campaign.
The only Democrat in the HD 32 field so far, Stephanie Dukes of Clermont, who ran and lost to Sabatini last year, has raised just $60 in six months for another try, not including $560 of her own money she has put into her campaign.
In House District 50, where Republican Rep. Rene Plasencia is running for the Senate, two Republican candidates have begun campaigns with very modest efforts. Angelique ‘Angel’ Perry of Orlando raised $925 in April. Chris Wright of Orlando has yet to raise any money.
No Democrats have filed yet to run in HD 50, which covers southeastern Orange County and northeastern Brevard County and is pretty evenly split in voter registration.
