Jesse Scheckner
Republican Rep. Jim Mooney has raised just over $66,000 to defend his seat representing House District 120. While that may seem a modest war chest, it should prove more than sufficient without an opponent.
Mooney, a former Islamorada Mayor and Council member, added $10,000 in September to his 2022 reelection bid, which is, as of now, unopposed. His campaign took in $6,000, while his political committee, Friends of Jim Mooney, accepted $4,000.
His prior challenger, perennial candidate Jose Peixoto, had yet to report any capital raised for the contest as of June and has since been removed from the Florida Division of Elections listing of active candidates.
Most of Mooney’s gains last month came from the beer industry, including $3,000 from Quality Acquisitions Company, a subsidiary of South Florida Anheuser-Busch distributor Eagle Brands Sales, and Gold Coast Beverage, a subsidiary of Reyes Beer Division, the largest beer distributor in the country.
Florida Beer Wholesalers Good Government, a political committee run by Daytona Beverages President Kevin Bowler, gave another $1,000.
Mooney also got $2,000 from Key West-headquartered Monroe Concrete Products, $1,000 from Florida Natural Gas Political Action Committee (PAC), $1,000 from Aventura-based government consultancy firm Capital Advocacy Group, $1,000 from Rep. Jason Shoaf’s Protect Our Florida Values political committee and $1,000 from pharmaceutical giant Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., which is seeking emergency use approval from the FDA for an experimental COVID-19 drug.
After paying nearly $4,500 to Tallahassee firms Capital Resources LLC and PAC Financial Management, Mooney grossed about $5,500 last month.
HD 120 covers all of Monroe County and the southernmost part of Miami-Dade County, including portions of Homestead, Everglades National Park and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Leisure City and Princeton.
He won his seat in November, earning 55% of the vote to defeat Democrat Clint Barras and succeed Holly Raschein, who reached term limits in the House but was appointed last month to the Monroe County Commission after Commissioner Mike Forster died of pneumonia linked to COVID-19.
To Mooney’s advantage, the district skews Republican. More than 53% of Monroe County voters cast ballots for former President Donald Trump last year compared to less than 46% for President Joe Biden.
Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez outpaced Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by a roughly 9-percentage-point margin. Republican state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez defeated Democrat Javier Fernandez by nearly 14 percentage points. All three Monroe Commission races went to GOP candidates. And Republican Dennis Ward trounced Democrat Donald Barrett 58% to 42% to hold onto his job as Monroe County State Attorney.
Candidates faced a Monday deadline to report all campaign fundraising activity in September.
