Scott Powers
Republican Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner Robyn Hattaway pulled in $17,760 in April for her contest with Port Orange City Council member Chase Tramont for the new House District 30 straddling the Volusia-Brevard county line.
Hattaway’s latest fundraising month brings her total raised to $65,904, and she entered May with about $50,000 in the bank.
Tramont reported raising $11,150 in April. According to reports filed with the state, he has raised more than $108,000 for his House campaign and had about $81,000 in the bank heading into May. The reports do not yet show the nearly $50,000 Tramont raised when he was seeking a seat on the Volusia County Council. He had about $45,000 on hand when he ended that bid and switched to HD 30 race, all of which can be used for the House campaign.
Hattaway, hailing from Titusville on the Brevard side, and Tramont, who lives in Volusia, are in an Aug. 23 Republican Primary battle for the open seat.
The district, representing mostly the coastal areas from Titusville to Port Orange, has a strong Republican lean, and so far no Democrats have filed to run there.
To the west, in southwestern Volusia County, two incumbent Republicans are facing off in the newly drawn House District 29. Reps. Webster Barnaby of Deltona and Elizabeth Fetterhoff of DeLand, posted lackluster fundraising efforts in April.
Likewise, to the South, Republican Reps. Tyler Sirois of Merritt Island, Thad Altman of Indialantic and Randy Fine of Palm Bay, also raised almost no money in their re-election bids in House Districts 31, 32, and 33 down through most of Brevard. Sirois does not have an opponent, while Altman and Fine have nominal opposition.
For the very competitive battle expected in HD 30, Hattaway, a lawyer, drew 33 contributions in April including 13 for the maximum $1,000 amount, mostly from Titusville.
Tramont drew 20 contributions, including eight for $1,000, mostly from Tallahassee. He also opened up an independent political committee in April, the Faith Family Freedom Coalition, but there were no deposits in April.
Elsewhere in southern Volusia and Brevard:
— In HD 29, Barnaby reported raising $6,400 in April. That brought his total raised for this cycle to $122,480. He entered May with about $98,000 in the bank. Fetterhoff reported raising $3,383 in April. She now has raised $108,298, and entered May with about $67,000 cash in hand.
A Democrat, Rick Karl, filed to run there on Tuesday, too late to file any campaign finance reports yet. Results of the past couple of General Elections show the precincts in HD 29 add up to a slight Republican lean for the district.
— In HD 31, covering northern Brevard, Sirois reported raising just $100 for his official campaign account in April. That gave him $97,830 raised, and about $52,000 in the bank on May 1. He also has an independent political committee, Launching Florida’s Future, which showed no activity in April. It had about $15,000 in the bank.
— In HD 32, covering central Brevard, Altman raised no money in April. His official campaign account has raised $19,000 overall and had about $17,000 of that left on May 1. He also has an independent political committee, The Florida Heritage Political Committee. It showed no activity in April, and has about $2,000 in hand.
Independent candidate Elijah Pierce Dury of Melbourne donated $238 to his HD 32 campaign, but ended April with no money in the account.
— In HD 33, covering most of southern Brevard, Fine also raised no money in April. His official campaign fund has raised $117,863, and had about $82,000 in the bank on May 1. He also has an independent political committee, Friends of Randy Fine, which showed little recent activity. It has raised $467,000 overall, and had about $269,000 in the bank.
Democrat Anthony Jay Yantz of Palm Bay reported raising $1,865 in April, bringing his total raised to $4,375. He entered May with about $3,000 in the bank.
HD 31 and HD 32 appear to have strong Republican leans and HD 33 appears to have a moderate Republican lean, based on results of the past couple of General Elections.
