Ryan Nicol
Democratic candidate Jordan W. Leonard added just under $12,000 in December, allowing him to close the year with nearly $179,000 in available cash as he pursues a House seat this year.
Leonard, a Bay Harbor Islands Council member and former Mayor, collected just $1,600 through his campaign account last month. But he also raised $10,000 via his political committee, Americans for Florida.
Two real estate developers — Brooklyn 360 LLC of New York and CG Summer Investments of Miami — donated $5,000 each to Leonard’s PC in December. A Teamsters local union pitched in $1,000 to Leonard’s campaign account, alongside two individual donations.
Leonard originally filed to compete in the House District 100 contest to succeed term-limited Democratic Rep. Joe Geller. Geller endorsed Leonard in that pursuit.
But the House’s decennial redistricting process appears to be shifting the number of that district. Leonard has said he will likely pursue the new House District 106 seat, which covers some similar ground to the current HD 100.
“Since I announced my candidacy, I have always said that I would run in the district that included northeast Miami-Dade County, including Aventura and Sunny Isles Beach,” Leonard said in a statement last month. “Newly drawn HD 106 is where I have been elected to represent Bay Harbor Islands as a Council Member, Vice Mayor and Mayor for the last 13 years.”
The House is still a ways away from finalizing new maps which will be in effect for the 2022 election cycle. Those boundaries could change before Election Day. Until the final maps are approved, Leonard remains listed as a candidate in HD 100.
Several other Democratic candidates are listed in that HD 100 contest as well, though all could also be affected by the changing boundaries. They are: Todd Delmay, Clay Miller, Gustavo Ortega and Evan Shields. Republican candidate Wena Sutjapojnukul also filed in HD 100.
Miller, who works as the legislative director for Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr, added nearly $6,000 in December, leaving him with just over $66,000 in available cash heading into 2022.
None of the others raised significant cash in December. Delmay, an LGBTQ activist, raised just over $1,700. Shields, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party Treasurer, added less than $300. Shields has already said his eyes are on the House District 107 contest due to redistricting.
Sutjapojnukul reported just $100 in contributions. Ortega, the newest candidate, raised $0 in outside cash but loaned his campaign $600.
Candidates and political committees faced a Jan. 10 deadline to report all financial activity through Dec. 31.
