Kelly Hayes
Environmental scientist Lindsay Cross surpassed the $100,000 fundraising benchmark in December for her House District 68 campaign.
Cross, who is so far the only candidate in the race to succeed Rep. Ben Diamond, hit the milestone after collecting $6,145 last month, according to campaign finance reports from the Florida Division of Elections. She now has raised $102,272 since launching her campaign.
Her affiliated political committee, Moving Pinellas Forward, reported no donations in December.
Cross’ campaign reported 43 contributors in December, including a $500 donation from former St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice and another $500 from government law and lobbying firm GrayRobinson Florida PAC. Cross also saw three $1,000 donations from organizations including Great Bay Distributors Inc., Florida Beer Wholesalers Association PAC and Molina Healthcare Inc.
In December, her campaign spent $1,309 split among campaign consulting, software/email services, and processing fees.
Cross has $103,985 cash on hand between her campaign and political committee, with surplus funds spilling over in her political committee from a previous campaign in 2018. During her current campaign for HD 68, Cross’ political committee has only collected $3,500, but she raised $415,100 in a previous bid for Senate, during which she spent $397,815.
Cross challenged Sen. Jeff Brandes in the 2018 race for Senate District 24, losing by about eight percentage points. Her odds are better in 2022, assuming HD 68 remains a Democratic-leaning district after reapportionment.
HD 68, which covers part of Pinellas County, has a nearly 7,000 voter registration advantage, with 46,096 Democrats to 39,207 Republicans. But with redistricting occurring ahead of the 2022 election, that could change if the Republican majority in the Legislature redraws boundaries to boost its advantage.
Cross has earned endorsements from outgoing St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman, Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard, Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson, Gulfport City Council member Michael Fridovich, Largo City Commissioner Eric Gerard and Belleair Bluffs Commissioner Joseph Barkley III.
