Barbara Sharief collects $185K in 2Q, with help of $130K in self-loans

Barbara Sharief, a health care CEO, doctor of nursing practice and Broward's first Black woman Mayor, is again running for Senate District 35. Image via

Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief added $185,000 to her campaign last quarter in her bid to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.

Sharief loaned her campaign $130,000 to help boost that second quarter number. She’s now put in $230,000 of her own money as she competes in a jam-packed Democratic primary field for the nomination.

Mark Bogen, Sharief’s colleague on the Broward County Commission, donated $500 to her campaign in the second quarter. That adds to $1,000 in donations Bogen previously gave to Sharief’s bid. He’s supporting Sharief over Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness, who is also running in the CD 20 Special Election.

Sharief spent more than $137,000 last quarter. That includes more than $76,000 with the West Palm Beach-based firm Patriot Games. Much of that cash went to ad buys and production. Her campaign holds nearly $154,000 as of June 30.

Sharief represents District 8 on the County Commission, though she is barred from running again due to term limits. Sharief won the District 8 seat in 2010. The County Commission selected Sharief as Mayor in both 2013 and 2016. The county has a weak mayoral structure, where that title is rotated among the Commission’s members. The county gives much of its authority to the county administrator.

CD 20 stretches from Broward to Palm Beach County. It encompasses many majority-Black areas near major cities such as Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. District 8 on the County Commission slightly overlaps with the southern portion of CD 20.

In addition to Holness and Sharief, fellow elected officials such as state Sen. Perry Thurston and state Reps. Bobby DuBose and Omari Hardy are also seeking the CD 20 seat in the Special Election. Holness raised more than $300,000 last quarter, while the numbers for the others are not yet available.

Several non-elected officials are also running for the Democratic nomination in CD 20. Natalia Allen, Matt Boswell, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Elvin Dowling, Phil Jackson, Krystal Jordan, Emmanuel Morel, Marlon Onias, Priscilla Ann Taylor and Pradel Vilme have all also filed to run.

Dowling added around $40,000 last quarter, including a $13,000 loan. Taylor brought in $37,000 with help from a $3,000 loan. Fundraising reports for the remaining candidates have not yet been posted on the FEC website.

Vic DeGrammont, Lateresa Jones, Ervan Miller, Greg Musselwhite and Bernard Sansaricq have also filed as Republicans in the Special Election contest. Mike ter Maat is running as a Libertarian candidate, while Robert Ornelas and Leonard Serratore are listed as non-party affiliated candidates.

The reports submitted thus far show DeGrammont added more than $15,000, while Musselwhite collected just $2,500. The Libertarian ter Maat raised nearly $23,000.

Candidates and political committees face a Thursday deadline to report all financial activity through June 30.