Anne Geggis
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch raised $66,246 in the last quarter of 2021, adding to his war chest as he looks for an eighth term in Congress.
He currently represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, but the decennial U.S. House redistricting effort might have him facing a reconfigured district. Some drafts have him up against fellow Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach.
Still, he has a hefty campaign kitty compared to his current competitors inside CD 22. Deutch has just over $401,700 to spend as of Dec. 31 as he looks to fend off challenges from three Republicans and one Democrat.
Deutch reported 54 transactions in the quarter.
David Shapiro, a New York City resident, was Deutch’s biggest single, individual contributor during the last quarter, giving the Congressman the maximum $5,800. A Livingston, New Jersey, couple — Dayna Zoller, a dentist, and Peter Zoller, an investment banker — gave a total of $10,000.
Deutch spent $132,823 during the last quarter of 2021. His largest campaign bill came from The Recording Academy in Santa Monica, California. The $39,500 item was described as a “donation/event tickets.” The campaign also spent $23,600 with the Katz Watson Group in Washington for fundraising and consulting services.
Deutch’s closest Republican competitor, Jim Pruden, raised almost $60,000 in the last quarter of 2021, according to his committee’s end-of-year report. Most of the money —$52,156 — came from the candidate himself, however.
Scott J. Biederman of Joe’s Tire Mart in Boca Raton was Pruden’s biggest contributor, giving a total of $5,250 in the last quarter. Pruden’s biggest campaign expense this quarter was a $4,000 payment to Trey Taylor of Broomfield, Colorado for “entertainment,” reports show. The candidate’s cash on hand was at $47,622 on Dec. 31, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Republican Denise Swaffar raised $21,238 with $16,241 of it coming from 79 itemized donations. Among individual donors, she collected the most — $5,000 — from Timothy Nigro, owner of Superior Tree and Landscape in Davie. Marlene Sandler, a Boca Raton retiree, kicked in $3,267. Swaffar spent a total of $5,101 during the last quarter, leaving her with $22,273 cash on hand.
Another Republican, Steve Chess, reported raising $1,980 during the last quarter and spent $9,629, most of it on print ads with Around Town Newspaper in Pompano Beach. His campaign committee reports a total of $22,121 on hand, according to FEC reports.
Another Democrat, Imtiaz Ahmad Mohammad, has also filed to compete against Deutch in the Primary to represent the district that includes Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, parts of Fort Lauderdale, Margate, Coral Springs and Parkland. But the FEC did not list any financial reports from Mohammad’s campaign.
The campaigns faced a Monday deadline to report all expenditures and donations through Dec. 31.
