Lois Frankel fundraising nets $158K during Q4 for re-election, continuing to outpace opponents

 U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel’s fourth quarter financial reports show she netted just a hair more than the six-figure sum she raised in the previous quarter and she has a war chest bigger than all six of her Republican competitors combined.

The West Palm Beach Democrat representing Florida’s 21st Congressional District — President Donald Trump’s home territory — raised $157,909 in the period that ended Dec. 31 in her bid for a sixth term in Congress. The period before, she raised $156,961.

Frankel’s district now includes Atlantis, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach. But her territory might very well change to shift boundaries and competitors as the state undergoes the decennial process of redistricting according to the latest U.S. Census. One draft has her facing incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch.

Still, with nearly $1.5 million cash on hand, no one competing for the right to challenge Frankel in November’s General Election could come close to outspending her. Her closest competitor, Dan Franzese reports a total of $160,150 cash on hand, just a little more than what Frankel banked during the quarter.

Frankel’s campaign committee reported 184 transactions and 46 of those were from political action committees. The sum of those donations totalled $76,000, almost half of her total haul.

Those committees run the gamut, representing unions, specific businesses, industries as a whole and humanitarian causes like the Humane Society Legislative Fund in Washington.

Eleven political committees sent Frankel the maximum — $5,000. They were: American Crystal Sugar Company, based in Moorhead, Minn.; Humana’s political arm, located in Washington; Progressive Party Turnout Project in Chicago; and Southern Glazer’s Wine in Miami.

She got the maximum donation that individuals can give from Florida Crystals Corp.’s Alfonso Fanjul, a North Palm Beach billionaire; Prospect Hotel Advisors President John Ceriale of Palm Beach and Greenacres retiree Dorothy Frankel.

Among the individual donors, there were some notable names including Alvin H. Perlmutter of New York City, a former NBC News vice president now documentary filmmaker, who gave $2,900. Ian MacKechnie, founder and CEO of Amscot, a national company which provides money services to those without bank accounts, gave $2,500 as did Jean MacKechnie, identified as an “Amscot executive” who lives at the same Tampa address.

Frankel’s committee spent $47,226 in the last quarter. The biggest payments went to the Strathdee Group, a Washington fundraising consultant, which received $18,597 from the campaign and New Blue Interactive, a Bethesda, Md., digital fundraising consultant, which received $10,017. A NGP Van, a campaign software company, was paid $5,250.

 Franzese, a Palm Beach investor and businessman, raised $111,835 in the last quarter with a $103,000 donation coming from himself. Josh Eisen of Harrison, N.Y., a consultant, was his next-biggest contributor, writing him a check for $2,900.

He spent $32,284 this quarter leaving him with a total of $160,150 cash on hand.

In expenses, the Franzese campaign’s biggest check, $21,000, went to Global Strategic Advisory Group in West Palm Beach.

The No. 3 in the money race to represent CD 21, Rod Dorilas, raised $112,000 last quarter with the bulk of it, $67,392, not itemized. Dorilas, chipped in $1,792 to his campaign this past quarter. Two political committees also contributed. Black America’s Political Action Committee in Washington, gave him $2,500 and Supporting Electing American Leaders, based in Athens, Ga., gave him $5,000.

Among individual donors, Dorilas received the maximum $5,800 donation allowed from Howard Leach of Palm Beach, former president of Leach Capital and former U.S. ambassador to France. Jorie Butler Kent of Palm Beach, the vice chairman of emeritus Abercrombie Kent, a luxury travel company, gave $5,400.

The Dorilas campaign showed he’s burning through the cash. He spent $100,513 this last quarter, with nearly $60,000 going to Campaign Solutions in Alexandria, Va., for “fundraising fees.” The campaign also paid Thomas Reckling of Wellington $13,500 for strategy consulting. Those expenses left Dorilas’ campaign with $55,700 cash on hand.

Jeffrey Buongiorno, another Republican running for CD 21, reported that he raised $39,855, including a $23,400 donation from the candidate. Out of the $38,650 in listed on the committee’s itemized donations, all but $750 of it was in-kind donations., His total raised also included $23,400 of in-kind donations Buongiorno provided to his campaign, including information technology work he did and a $2,500 boat trailer to use as a base for mobile advertising. The campaign’s expenses, many of them listed as in-kind, left Buorgiorno’s campaign with $114,385 cash on hand, according to the report filed with the FEC.

Deborah Adeimy, a West Palm Beach financial planner, who filed to run in October as a Republican, raised $75,392 in the last quarter, according to her first report. That includes $13,002 the candidate donated to her campaign committee.

She received the maximum individual donation, $5,800, from Dale Hedrick of West Palm Beach, with Hedrick Brothers Construction; Chris Tierney, a Loxahatchee installer; Jamieson Tierney, a Knoxville, Tenn., retiree; and Matt Tierney a welder in Knoxville, Tenn.

The biggest campaign expense out of the $18,751 spent during the last quarter, was a $2,500 event sponsorship with the Palm Beach Historical Society. The campaign also spent $1,850 for digital services with Jupiter Website Design.

After those expenses, Adeimy’s campaign committee reports $56,641 cash on hand.

Peter Arianas is also running as a Republican in the CD 21 race. He reports $5,250 in contributions in the last quarter and $7,071 cash on hand.

Another Republican candidate Ljubo Skrbic reported no donations in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The campaigns faced a deadline Monday to report all campaign expenses and donations.