Ryan Nicol
Republican Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez raised $36,000 in September, giving her more than $430,000 in cash on hand to defend her Senate District 39 seat.
Rodriguez is looking like she’ll repeat as a strong fundraiser this cycle after bringing in plenty of cash last year in her first bid for the seat. Rodriguez collected $17,000 in September through her campaign account and another $19,000 through her political committee, Ethics and Honesty in Government. That September haul follows a whopping $97,500 added in August.
Several organizations in the medical field contributed to Rodriguez’s September total. Dentaquest PAC and the Florida Doctors for Private Practice PAC each donated $5,000 to Rodriguez’s PC. The Dermatology PAC of Florida and the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists PAC each contributed $2,500.
Petland also donated $2,500 to Rodriguez’s PC.
Influential lobbyist Ron Book donated $1,000 to Rodriguez’s campaign account. Book’s consulting firm and law firm also each donated $1,000. The Coates Law Firm, Jorden W. Lewin P.A. and the Weber Law Firm all donated $1,000 each. Walgreens also added $500 to Rodriguez’s bid.
Rodriguez showed $11,500 in expenditures for the month. Her PC spent $6,000 on donations to fellow Republicans, including a $3,000 donation to Wilton Simpson’s campaign for Agriculture Commissioner. Rodriguez’s PC also donated $1,000 each to Reps. Cord Byrd and Mike Caruso, as well as Doral Mayor Juan Carlos “J.C.” Bermudez, who is pursuing a Miami-Dade County Commission seat.
The PC also spent $3,000 on political consulting with Miranda Advocacy.
Still, Rodriguez is sitting on more than $430,000 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30. So far, Rodriguez has not courted an opponent in the race. Rodriguez won the seat last November by a resounding 13 points in what was expected to be a more competitive contest.
The district covers all of Monroe County and part of southern Miami-Dade County, though it’s unclear how the redistricting process will affect those boundaries. Candidates and political committees faced a Monday deadline for reporting all financial activity through Sept. 30.
