Janelle Irwin Taylor
Berny Jacques added more than $14,000 to his coffers in July for his House District 66 campaign.
The Republican candidate reported $10,000 raised for his political committee, Florida Values Coalition, and $4,573 for his official campaign, bringing his July fundraising total to $14,573.
Jacques reported his totals to Florida Politics. July financials have not yet been officially posted to the Florida Division of Elections.
With this self-reported July haul, Jacques has now raised $56,300 for his political committee and $68,300 for his campaign, for a total of nearly $125,000.
Jacques did not release spending details for July, but as of the end of June, he spent all but $5,000 of his committee funds and just over $5,000 of his campaign funds. He entered July with just under $59,000 on hand.
Jacques received contributions from Pinellas businessman Brent Sembler, a prominent GOP donor, and Brian Battaglia, a Pinellas lawyer and former judicial candidate.
Right now, Jacques will face fellow Republican Alen Tomczak in the GOP Primary to succeed incumbent Nick DiCeglie as he seeks a seat in the Senate.
Tomczak has not yet posted July fundraising totals, but he raised just over $69,000 with about $56,500 left on hand as of the end of June.
Jacques is a former prosecutor and former conservative analyst for Bay News 9. Tomczak is a technical lead at Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base.
So far, Jacques and Tomczak are the only two filed for the race in the red district covering parts of northwest Pinellas County, including Clearwater Beach south to Indian Shores.
Jacques previously ran for HD 66 in 2018, losing the GOP primary to DiCeglie.
HD 66 has a conservative advantage, with nearly 50,000 registered Republican voters to just over 38,000 Democrats. The district also includes nearly 34,000 independent voters. Its boundaries and demographics are subject to change pending results from redistricting required following the 2020 Census, which will occur before the 2022 election.
