Fred Hawkins pulls in $50K for HD 42 reelection

Despite an arrest, Fred Hawkins wins his race for

Republican Rep. Fred Hawkins topped all Central Florida legislative candidates in September, pulling in $50,200 for his reelection bid in House District 42.

Hawkins has only nominal opposition at this point in HD 42, which covers parts of eastern Polk County and most of Osceola County, with the exception of northern areas of the county that include most of Kissimmee and Celebration.

With his September fundraising effort, which drew 39 maximum $1,000 checks and 84 total contributions, Hawkins now has raised $114,300. He rode into October with more than $83,000 in the bank.

“The amount of support the campaign is receiving is both humbling and uplifting,” Hawkins said. “I’ve really focused on improving the lives of the people of Florida and will continue to do so.”

Hawkins’ only challenger thus far is Zane Matter-Romero, a political operative who ran briefly in 2020 against Hawkins in the Republican Primary, then withdrew and supported Hawkins’ Democratic opponent in the General Election. Now Matter-Romero is running as a Democrat. He has $100.

Among fully contested election races, Taylor Yarkosky continued to show strong financial support for his bid in the open House District 32 seat, covering most of Lake County, except the northeastern region.

Yarkosky raised $30,750 for his official campaign account and another $10,000 for his political committee, Lake County Conservatives. His campaign now has raised $143,625, and had about $106,000 in the bank at the start of October. The Lake County Conservatives committee now has raised $58,000, and had about $53,000 in the bank on Oct. 1.

Fellow HD 32 Republican candidate Matthew Silbernagel reported raising $1,000 in September, giving him $23,465 raised and about $22,500 in the bank.

Democratic HD 32 candidate Stephanie Dukes reported no campaign finance activity in September. She has raised only $294 to date.

Elsewhere in House races across Central Florida:

— Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby raised $7,190 in September for his reelection to House District 27 in western Volusia County. He has raised $79,180 to date, and entered October with about $73,000 in the bank. He has no challenger.

— Republican Rep. David Smith raised $22,775 in September for his reelection to House District 28 in eastern Seminole County. He’s raised $127,763 to date, and entered October with about $99,000 in the bank. He has no challenger.

— Republican Rachel Plakon raised $5,500 in September for her election bid for House District 29 in northern Seminole County. She’s raised $132,756 to date, and entered October with about $73,000 in the bank. She also has a political committee, but raised no money for it in September. Friends of Rachel Plakon entered October with about $50,000.

Her Democrartic challenger, Luther Luke Dowe, reported raising his first $1,000 in outside money, to go along with the $10,000 of his own money he put into his campaign.

Republican Richard Santos just entered the HD 29 race in late September and reported no financial activity.

— Democratic Rep. Joy Goff-Marcil raised $3,500 in September for her reelection to House District 30 in southern Seminole County and northern Orange County. She’s raised $26,600 to date, and entered October with about $25,000 in the bank.

Her Republican HD 30 opponent, Drake Wuertz, reported raising $3,096 in September. He’s raised $4,440 to date, and entered October with just over $2,000 in the bank.

— Republican Rep. Keith Truenow raised $2,000 in September for his reelection to House District 31 in northeastern Lake County. He’s raised $36,555 to date, and entered October with about $26,000 in the bank.

— Democratic Rep. Kristen Arrington raised $2,100 in September for her reelection to House District 43 in northwestern Osceola County. She’s raised $15,075 to date, and entered October with about $10,000 in the bank.

Her Democratic Primary opponent, Anthony Nieves, reported $100 raised in September. He’s raised $816 overall and entered October with $82 in the bank.

Republican HD 43 challenger Jeffrey Hawk just entered the raise in September, starting with $295.

— Republican Vennia Francois raised $27,650 September, her first month campaigning for an open seat in House District 44 in southwestern Orange County. She entered October with just about all of that in the bank.

Another new Republican in that district, Janet Frevola, entered the race in early October and so has not yet filed any campaign finance reports.

— Democrat Charles Law Jr. raised $2,000 in September for his bid for the open seat in House District 45 in western Orange County. He’s raised $14,624 to date, and entered October with about $11,000 in the bank.

His Democratic Primary opponent, Melissa Myers, reported picking up $100 in September. She has raised $3,955 and entered October with about $1,500 in the bank.

— Democratic Rep. Travers McCurdy raised $4,000 in September for his reelection to House District 46 in western Orange County. He’s raised $13,424 to date, and entered October with about $11,500 in the bank.

HD 46 Green Party candidate Robin Denis Harris reported $652 raised in September for a total of $994 to date, with about $950 left in the bank.

— Democratic Rep. Anna V. Eskamani raised $12,968 in September for her reelection to House District 47 in central Orange County. She’s raised $59,533 to date, and entered October with about $51,000 in the bank.

Her Republican opponent, David Dwyer, reported raising $4,261 and putting another $15,400 of his own money into his campaign. That left him with $6,491 raised, $16,300 of his own money, and about $20,000 in the bank.

— Democratic Rep. Daisy Morales raised $1,000 in September for her reelection to House District 48 in southeastern Orange County. She’s raised $6,895 to date, and has not yet spent any money.

— Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith raised $2,195 in September for his reelection to House District 49 in northeastern Orange County. He’s raised $15,425 to date, and entered October with about $12,000 in the bank.

He just gained a Republican opponent, Jay J. Rodriguez, who filed as a candidate in late September. He has not reported any campaign financial activity.

— Republican Robyn Hattaway raised $2,700 in September for her bid for the open seat in House District 50 in northwestern Brevard County and eastern Orange County. She’s raised $23,550 to date, and entered October with about $23,000 in the bank.

Republican Angelique “Angel” Perry reported no financial activity in September. She’s raised $4,485 to date, and entered October with about $3,300 in the bank.

Republican Christopher Wright reported raising $150 in September. He’s raised $635 to date, and hasn’t spent any of it.

Republican Yukong Zhao entered the HD 50 field in October and has not yet had to file any financial reports.

— Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois raised $9,350 in September for his reelection to House District 51 in northern Brevard County. He’s raised $67,480 to date, and entered October with about $50,000 in the bank.

— Republican Thad Altman reported no financial activity in September for his reelection to House District 52 in central Brevard County. He’s raised $10,000 to date, and entered October with about $8,000 in the bank.

His Republican Primary opponent, Chandler Langevin, reported raising $25 in September. He’s raised $4,630 to date, and entered October with about $2,500 in the bank.

— Republican Rep. Randy Fine raised $4,555 in September for his reelection to House District 53 in southern Brevard County. He’s raised $85,488 to date, and entered October with about $63,500 in the bank.