Kelly Hayes
St. Petersburg Republican Alen Tomczak led August fundraising reports in the race to succeed Rep. Nick DiCeglie for House District 66, with Seminole Republican Berny Jacques still leading in overall fundraising.
Jacques, a former prosecutor and former conservative analyst for Bay News 9, raised $7,425 in August, according to his most recent campaign finance report. Jacques’ affiliated political committee, Florida Values Coalition, did not report any fundraising or expenditures for the past month.
Tomczak, who entered the race in early March, collected $17,100 between his campaign and newly established political committee, Friends of Alen Tomczak. Tomczak works as a technical lead at Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base.
Jacques’ campaign reported 43 donors in August, including three $1,000 donations from attorneys Jeffrey and Jessica Lowe, and Elevating Florida’s Future PAC.
Jacques’ campaign dished out $706 in June, including $500 on supplies from Data Targeting and the remaining on processing fees.
Since entering the race, Jacques has raised $131,725 between his campaign account and affiliated political committee, including money raised before Jacques entered the 2022 race. After spending $48,501 between the two, he is left with $83,224 cash on hand.
Tomczak, on the other hand, listed three donors to his campaign in the month of August, including two $1,000 drops from Duke Energy Corporation Florida PAC and attorney James Horton.
Tomczak spent $1,736 in August, with $1,271 going to online media services and the rest distributed among processing fees and accounting services.
His affiliated political committee collected $15,000 in the month of August, all from one donor — Joe White, who works in plumbing supplies. The committee reported no spending this past month.
Tomczak heads into September with $72,571 cash on hand, having spent $17,009. So far, Tomczak has collected $89,580.
A third Republican, Jennifer Wilson, entered the race at the start of September. Her first fundraising report won’t be released until October. Wilson works as a lawyer and lobbyist, and serves as a member of Keep Pinellas Beautiful.
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. The candidates are running to represent parts of northwest Pinellas County, including Clearwater Beach south to Indian Shores.
Correction: A previous version of this story reported Jacques as the highest fundraiser for August. The story has been updated to reflect the numbers from Tomczak’s affiliated political committee.
