Drew Wilson
Defuniak Springs Republican Shane Abbott’s streak of five-figure fundraising months continues with more than $43,000 flowing to his campaign account last month in the race to succeed term-limited Rep. Brad Drake.
All the money raised last month headed to Abbott’s official campaign account, which has now drawn in $162,395 in contributions, including a $10,000 candidate loan. The new money came in across 72 checks, including 30 checks for $1,000 — the maximum allowable contribution for state legislative races.
Abbott had previously raised $7,500 through his political committee, Prescription for Florida’s Prosperity. Combined with his campaign account, he has brought in $170,552 since entering the race for House District 5. He has $154,822 in the bank.
“Community is everything here in Northwest Florida, and I’m honored to have such great support for our campaign across every corner of our district,” Abbott said in a news release.
“Support like this goes a long way in our fight to help our businesses and families as we continue to recover from COVID-19, enhance our education and vocational training opportunities and help Governor DeSantis fight for the America First agenda to the Florida House.”
Abbott, who owns an independent pharmacy, is one of three Republicans running for HD 5, which covers all of Holmes, Jackson, Walton, and Washington counties as well as part of Bay County. He faces Jackson County Commissioner Clint Pate and Marianna Republican Vance Coley in the primary.
Neither Coley nor Pate have posted their June reports. Coley had raised $23,810 and had $23,264 in the bank through May 31. Pate had raised $14,795 and had $12,820 on hand through the same date.
HD 5 is favorable to Republicans. Drake hasn’t faced a challenger in the general election since 2016, when he earned more than two-thirds of the vote against no-party candidate Jamey Westbrook. In 2014, he earned nearly three-quarters of the vote against Libertarian candidate Karen Schoen.
However, district lines will shift ahead of the 2022 election because of the once-per-decade reapportionment process. Depending on how lines shift, the current candidates for HD 5 may not be running for the same seat come August 2020.
