A.G. Gancarski
Democratic Rep. Tracie Davis raised more than $115,000 in November for her state Senate race.
Davis, who currently represents House District 13 in Jacksonville, announced Friday she raised $24,662 to her campaign account, as well as $91,100 to the Together We Stand political committee.
With the $45,000 she previously raised, her campaign has raised about $170,000 through the two months she has been an official candidate.
“I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support we’ve received since announcing our campaign for the State Senate,” Davis said. “The residents of Jacksonville deserve a Senator who will represent our community’s shared values in Tallahassee. Together, we will fight to increase access to quality, affordable health care, advocate for additional funding for our local public schools, and work to protect the voting rights of Floridians.”
Davis is the Democratic Ranking Member of both the House Health & Human Services Committee and the House Early Learning & Elementary Education Committee. Her strong fundraising in November is particularly notable given a slowdown in fundraising by her top primary opponent .
Jacksonville City Council member Reggie Gaffney had what was by far his slowest month of fundraising in November.
Gaffney raised $13,955 to his campaign account last month from 63 contributions, pushing its total fundraising to $100,805, with all but $810 on hand. A handful of Jacksonville lawyers gave the maximum $1,000, while JEA lobbyist Kurt Wilson gave $500.
Gaffney’s committee fundraising slowed in November, meanwhile, with fund transfers used as a substitute for current activity.
The primary political committee Friends of Reggie Gaffney raised just $11,500 last month, with $10,000 of that a transfer from the Gaffney-aligned Committee to Revive Florida.
Friends of Reggie Gaffney has roughly $310,000 on hand.
The Committee to Revive Florida has largely been dormant. It brought in $13,500 in August, with Florida East Coast Industries contributing $5,000. Another $5,000 came from the Focused on Florida PC. David Ramba of the Ramba Consulting Group chairs the committee.
Both candidates have won more than they have lost in their political career.
Gaffney won a close election in 2015 and breezed to re-election four years later.
After losing a 2015 race for Duval County Supervisor of Elections, Davis was first elected in House District 13 in 2016 after losing that orimary, replacing indicted Rep. Reggie Fullwood as a candidate at the last moment and winning the General Election. She subsequently won re-election in 2018 and 2020 without a serious challenge.
Though maps for 2022 are not finalized, there appear to be few changes in Senate District 6 in the draft maps under consideration in the Florida Senate.
Senate District 6 is majority Democratic in registration, with 175,091 registered Democrats among its 334,648 registered voters, as of the 2020 book closing report from the Division of Elections. The district had just 88,518 Republicans.
Thus, SD 6 will likely continue to perform Democratic, and the August Primary will likely decide the winner. A Republican last made the ballot in this district in 2012.
Two other candidates have filed to run. Democrat Brooklyn Owen filed in January and has never reported fundraising activity. Republican Binod Kumar has filed reports that indicate no fundraising since he launched his campaign in July.
