Kelly Hayes
House District 5 candidate Shane Abbott brought in more than $15,000 in January, his campaign announced Thursday.
Abbott raised that amount between his campaign and affiliated political committee, Prescription for Florida’s Prosperity, bringing his total raised to more than $293,797. His campaign brought in $10,267 while his political committee brought in $5,000 during that same time.
Abbott is running in the Republican Primary to succeed Rep. Brad Drake.
“Our campaign continues to gain momentum through the first month of 2022,” Abbott said in a statement. “Our campaign’s grassroots team has already collected the petitions needed for me to qualify for the ballot, and we’re not stopping. We look forward to seeing everyone on the campaign trail.”
Abbott’s campaign provided the latest update. More information on other candidates’ financial details will be available when required campaign finance disclosures are filed with the Division of Elections.
The DeFuniak Springs pharmacy owner is one of three candidates running for HD 5, which covers all of Holmes, Jackson, Walton and Washington counties, as well as part of Bay County. He faces Jackson County Commissioner Clint Pate and Marianna Republican Vance Coley in the GOP Primary.
HD 5 is favorable to Republicans. Drake hadn’t faced a challenger in the General Election since 2016 when he earned more than two-thirds of the vote against non-party-affiliated candidate Jamey Westbrook. In 2014, he earned nearly three-quarters of the vote against Libertarian candidate Karen Schoen.
District lines will shift ahead of the 2022 election because of the once-per-decade reapportionment process, but that’s not expected to impact the GOP advantage in the district.
Drake is not seeking re-election because of term limits.
