A.G. Gancarski
State Rep. Tracie Davis made up a little bit of fundraising ground in April against Reggie Gaffney in the Democratic Primary race for Jacksonville’s Senate District 5.
However, Gaffney still holds a sizable cash lead ahead of the August Primary that, in all likelihood, will decide who replaces term-limited Audrey Gibson in the Senate.
Davis, who currently represents House District 13 in Jacksonville, raised $6,275 last month to her campaign account. This is the lowest amount she has raised in hard money for any month except February, when she couldn’t fundraise because she was serving in the Legislature. Donors included Democratic mayoral candidate Donna Deegan and the Florida Education Association.
She spent $6,863 last month, much of it on consulting, leaving her with a little more than $67,000 on hand.
Davis also raised $11,750 to her political committee, Together We Stand. That account closed April with nearly $180,000 cash on hand, and the April haul included contributions from committees Progressive Priorities and Tampa’s Tomorrow.
Davis has nearly a quarter million dollars on hand, but she still finds herself down by more than a two-to-one margin against Gaffney, a veteran political dealmaker with strong institutional ties in Duval County.
He has over $376,000 in his Friends of Reggie Gaffney political committee, despite spending more than $18,000 while raising just over $11,000 last month. He also has more than $128,000 in his campaign account, despite raising just over $5,000 and spending nearly $7,000.
Donors to the political committee included Keystone Properties, which contributed $10,000, and the Southern Group, which donated $1,000. Lobbyist Deno Hicks was among the contributors to Gaffney’s campaign account last month.
SD 5 is the functional replacement in the new redistricting plan for Senate District 6, which Gibson currently represents. A minority access district under both maps, the new configuration supported Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Andrew Gillum with more than 60% of the vote, which likely means Republicans won’t play in the General Election.
Republican Binod Kumar has been a filed candidate for a number of months, and April saw his first financial activity, as he put $100 into his account.
