Anne GeggisRep. Chip LaMarca raised his second-biggest monthly haul this election cycle after collecting cash for just the first 10 days of January.
Legislators don’t raise money after Session begins, but LaMarca continued to raise cash before lawmakers started meeting Jan. 11.
In January, LaMarca took in $20,500 through his committee, Citizens Helping Improve Policy, and $26,648 through his personal campaign account. That total $47,148 haul is topped only by what collected in October, when he raised more than $83,000.
Charter school, construction, energy and real estate interests all made a showing on his January donor list. Charter Schools USA and Red Apple Development LLC, both based in Fort Lauderdale, gave $2,500 each. He received a total of $7,000 from charter school interests.
LaMarca collected $7,500 from the energy industry, including $5,000 — his biggest single donation of the month — from Solar Power PAC of Sarasota. Construction interests from various entities chipped $7,350 to LaMarca’s personal campaign account, with $3,000 of it coming from people who work for Advanced Roofing in Fort Lauderdale.
LaMarca, a former Broward County Commissioner, also received a $250 donation from Torey Alston, one of the Commission’s two newest members.
Among his $3,760 in expenditures, records show LaMarca sent $1,000 to the Sean Parks Campaign for Lake County Commission.
The two-term Lighthouse Point Republican, representing House District 93, is the only GOP House member whose district sits entirely in deep-blue Broward County. But redistricting may mean LaMarca faces a steeper climb in his bid for his third term.
The redrawn map that is likely to be approved shows his coastal district that includes Lighthouse Point and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea will be renumbered to become House District 100 and become bluer, extending further west into Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
The current district, where LaMarca faces no challenger, voted for President Donald Trump by just over 1 percentage points, according to Matt Isbell of MCI Maps. The new HD 100, however, voted for President Joe Biden by 0.06 percentage points.
Still, with $239,346 cash on hand and no declared opposition, LaMarca is well-armed to defend his seat.
LaMarca in 2018 succeeded former Republican Rep. George Moraitis in HD 93 after Moraitis represented the district for eight years. LaMarca first won the seat in 2018 with a 7-point win. He built on that margin in 2020, defeating Democrat Linda Thompson Gonzalez with a 10-point win.
Campaigns and political committees faced a Thursday deadline to report all campaign finance activity through Jan. 31.
