Staff Reports
Taylor Yarkosky has raised more than $158,000 for his campaign succeed Rep. Anthony Sabatini in House District 32.
New campaign finance reports show the Montverde Republican pulled in $20,450 through his campaign account last month, including a dozen $1,000 checks. He also raised $2,000 for his political committee, Lake County Conservatives.
To date, Yarkosky has raised $110,625 through his campaign account and $48,000 through his committee for a grand total of $158,625. He started September with about $133,000 in the bank between the two accounts.
A campaign news release touting the fundraising numbers said Yarkosky “continues to build momentum” and has picked up endorsements from “the vast majority of Lake County’s conservative leaders.”
His backers include former Ambassador Carlos Trujillo, Sen. Danny Burgess, Sen. Jason Brodeur, Reps. Chip LaMarca and Keith Truenow, Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, as well as Lake County Commissioners Sean Parks, Doug Shields and Kirby Smith.
Yarkosky is one of two Republicans running to succeed Sabatini, a Howey-in-the-Hills Republican who is resigning the seat after two terms to run for Congress. The other GOP candidate is Matt Silbernagel of Winter Garden.
As of Aug. 31, Silbernagel had raised $22,465 for his campaign account and had $21,854 in the bank. Silbernagel does not have an affiliated political committee.
Clermont Democrat Stephanie Dukes is also running for the seat though she has raised less than $300 for her campaign since entering the race in November.
Currently, HD 32 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. The boundaries could shift, however, during the upcoming reapportionment Session.
