Ryan Nicol
Democratic candidate Hillary Cassel brought in more than $13,000 in July, besting her Democratic competitors and expanding her cash lead in the race for House District 99.
Jeremy Katzman, an administrator at Nova Southeastern University’s Health Professions Division, raised a little more than $3,700 during the month. Barry Faske, a member of the Florida Green Building Coalition’s board of directors, collected just $1,000.
Cassel has now raised just over $179,000 in outside contributions since filing for the race in late February. She has also put in $50,000 of her own cash, though that loan could be returned to the candidate if unspent. Still, as of July 31, Cassel had nearly $188,000 in available cash.
Compare that total to more than $53,000 cash on hand for Katzman and just over $2,700 for Faske and things are looking up for Cassel. Katzman has raised more than $53,000 total and pitched in a $5,000 loan. Faske has collected $3,000 overall, but $2,000 of that came from his own pockets.
Cassel, a lawyer, brought in just over $10,000 in July through her campaign account. Coconut Creek Commissioner Josh Rydell, a former candidate for Broward County State Attorney, donated $1,000 to Cassel’s campaign. Rubin Turnbull and Associates also donated $1,000. Mitchell Berger of the Berger Singerman law firm, one of the state’s top Democratic fundraisers, gave $100 to Cassel’s bid.
Cassel also raised just over $3,000 through her political committee, Friends of Hillary Cassel.
Katzman largely relied on smaller dollar donations, receiving just three contributions of $100 or more in July. Faske courted a single $1,000 donation from Shirlee Schiller of Aventura.
Cassel spent just over $7,600 during the month. The bulk of that — $5,000 — went to the Johnson Strategies consulting firm.
Katzman spent just over $100, while Faske didn’t report any expenditures.
The three candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed House Democratic Co-Leader Evan Jenne. Jenne is barred from running for another term in HD 99 due to term limits.
No Republicans have yet filed in the contest. That’s likely due to the district’s strong Democratic lean. Jenne was elected to four straight terms without facing an opponent once.
HD 99 covers parts of Broward County including Southwest Ranches, Cooper City, Dania Beach and Davie, though it’s unclear how redistricting will affect those boundaries. Candidates and political committees faced a Tuesday deadline to report all financial activity through July 31.
