Drew Wilson
Montverde Republican Taylor Yarkosky has now raised more than $125,000 for his campaign to succeed exiting Rep. Anthony Sabatini in House District 32.
Yarkosky’s campaign announced the milestone Monday, though finance reports for his official campaign account and his affiliated political committee, Lake County Conservatives, are not yet available on the Florida Division of Elections website.
In the announcement, the campaign said it “continues to gain steam, racking up the support of many prominent community leaders and raising the financial resources necessary to run a sustainable and effective campaign.”
The candidate had raised about $99,000 through the two accounts by the end of May, so when the reports drop they will show at least $26,000 in new money. The campaign and committee had about $84,000 in the bank heading into June.
Yarkosky entered the race in mid-March with a wave of endorsements from local leaders. He has since added endorsements from some Republican lawmakers he hopes to join in Tallahassee. The most recent nod came from Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican who represents Seminole and Volusia counties.
Other backers include Reps. Chip LaMarca and Keith Truenow, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell and Lake County Commissioners Sean Parks, Doug Shields and Kirby Smith, among others.
Yarkosky is one of two Republicans running for HD 32. The other is Winter Garden Republican Matt Silbernagel, who entered the race in mid-April and had raised about $20,000 for his campaign account through the end of June. Silbernagel has not filed paperwork registering an affiliated political committee.
The two could find themselves in separate districts depending on how district lines shift after reapportionment next year.
The current district covers southern Lake County and stretches from Leesburg past Clermont and south to the Polk County line. The district also includes Howey-in-the-Hills, Astatula, Mascotte, Groveland, Minneola, Montverde.
It is a solidly Republican seat. As of the book closing before November’s elections, the district had 58,989 registered Republicans and 47,001 Democrats.
