Kevin Chambliss adds $13K in October to fend off Democratic Primary challenge in HD 117

Democratic Rep. Kevin Chambliss posted his largest monthly fundraising total of the 2022 election cycle last month, raising more than $13,000 for his House District 117 reelection bid.

Chambliss raised $9,150 through his campaign account. He added another $4,250 via his affiliated political committee, Better Future For Our Children.

Johnny Farias, a former Miami-Dade Community Council member representing South Bay, is challenging Chambliss in the HD 117 Democratic Primary. In 2020, Farias also ran for the open District 9 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission. He placed fourth out of five candidates in a race eventually won by former House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee.

Farias was well behind Chambliss’ October fundraising pace, pulling in just over $1,000.

NextEra Energy donated $2,500 to Chambliss’ PC in October, marking the largest contribution of the month for the incumbent. The Florida Alliance for a Better Government, an organization run by former Democratic Party Executive Director Screven Watson, also chipped in $1,500.

Publix added $1,000 to Chambliss’ campaign account. The Florida Beer Wholesalers and Gold Coast Beverage also donated $1,000 each, as did T-Mobile and the Florida Farm Bureau.

Farias largely relied on smaller dollar donations, but those didn’t add up to much for the challenger in October. As of Oct. 31, Farias holds less than $17,000 between his campaign account and his political committee, Friends of Farias. Chambliss holds more than double that, at just over $35,000.

Still, that latter total is fairly low for an incumbent at this stage. Chambliss has not raised a whole lot of cash yet this cycle. He opened his 2022 campaign account shortly after winning the 2020 Democratic Primary. Chambliss was unopposed in the General Election.

But since then, he’s raised at least $6,000 in just four of the 14 full months he’s been a candidate. October is the first month he’s topped $10,000.

HD 117 spans southern portions of Miami-Dade County including Florida City and Naranja. Candidates and political committees faced a Wednesday deadline to report all financial activity through Oct. 31.