A.G. Gancarski
Rep. Paul Renner, the current Speaker-designate of the Florida House, continued his strong fundraising last month, but spent more than he pulled in.
All told, Renner raised $85,000 in April between his campaign account and those of his two political committees, Conservatives For Principled Leadership and Florida Foundation for Liberty.
Renner, of Palm Coast, is running in the new House District 19, a likely Republican-performing district that voted for Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis with over 55% of the vote in recent elections.
Leading all donors: the total of $50,000 donated from former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and his wife. The Rauners donated the money in April as they did last September, in the form of two $25,000 checks to the Conservatives for Principled Leadership political committee.
But in a sign of where we are in the political calendar, more money went out than in. While Renner raised $23,000 to his campaign account, he spent more than $31,000, with over $25,000 of that going to Data Targeting for direct mail.
He still has more than $76,000 in hard money.
Renner raised $62,500 to the Conservatives for Principled Leadership committee, spending all but $15,000 of that new April money. Notable spending from that account included $20,000 to the Best By Kids charity, $10,000 to the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee, and $1,000 to the re-election campaign of Duval County School Board member Charlotte Joyce, who filed a failed resolution of thanks to Gov. DeSantis for the state’s new Parental Rights in Education law.
The Conservatives for Principled Leadership committee has more than $1.8 million on hand.
The Florida Foundation for Liberty has another $300,000 on hand even with nothing raised in April. That PC spent nearly $15,000 last month. The committee donated $10,000 to the Duval REC, and also spread contributions to candidates, including the aforementioned Charlotte Joyce.
With over $2.1 million on hand and a Speakership set to start next year, Renner may seem impervious to challenge, yet he currently has three opponents. Two of them are Republican Primary challengers.
Timothy Allen Sharp of Palm Coast had roughly $5,000 on hand through March. He opened his campaign account last October.
Luis Antonio Miguel of St. Augustine ended April with $170 on hand. He has been campaigning for four months.
The winner of the Primary looks likely to face a Democrat who has run for state House against Renner before. Adam Morley entered the race in late March. He has raised $100 through April filings.
