Jacob Ogles
With the Legislative Session wrapped, Sarasota Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland raised another $2,500 at the end of March. But a political committee under her control cashed a $50,000 check as well.
In total, the freshman lawmaker has tallied $115,049 in contributions through her official campaign account. The $2,500 in new donations came from just three sources, with $1,000 coming from Ramba Law Group and another $1,000 from Ramba Consulting Group. Lawyer Alfred Saikali also donated $500.
Subtract expenses and she’s got $85,434 in cash on hand.
Additionally, the political committee Friends of Sarasota, chaired by Venice accountant Eric Robinson and associated with McFarland’s campaign, reported money from a single source. Priceworks Capital, a Belle Isle-based real estate corporation, sent a $50,000 check.
The committee holds $104,424 in resources available to McFarland should she need it.
That’s a solid war chest for an incumbent who has yet to draw a Democratic opponent despite representing Southwest Florida’s greatest battleground. A new map of House districts (H 8013) puts McFarland in House District 73 and she has changed her designation with the Division of Elections to reflect that.
An analysis by MCI Maps shows that seat as a deeply divided one where 49.7% of voters picked Republican Donald Trump in the last presidential election and 49.34% went for Democrat Joe Biden.
The House map is in place for the 2022 midterms. But for the moment, Democrats have yet to field a candidate.
McFarland won her seat in 2020, running in the old House District 72. She beat attorney Drake Buckman for the job by more than 9 percentage points. It was a key victory for Republicans, flipping a seat held previously by Democrat Margaret Good.
House Republicans in 2020 flipped five seats that had been held by Democrats after the 2018 election. The chamber right now has 78 Republicans and 42 Democrats.
The caucus is aiming for a supermajority in the chamber while Democrats hope to close the gap.
