Charlie Crist gubernatorial campaign pulls in more than $600K in early June

Democrat Charlie Crist raised more than $600,000 for his gubernatorial campaign in the first half of June.

Crist, a Congressman and former Republican Governor, announced donations from 8,000 individual donors poured into his campaign in just over two weeks. That means he has raised $11 million over the course of the campaign cycle.

“The people of Florida deserve nothing less than a governor with a heart, who is ready to fight for them each and every day — I could not be more humbled to receive their support in our campaign’s mission to deliver compassionate leadership back to our state,” Crist said. “This November, we’re going to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor so we can start tackling the real issues facing our neighbors and put the people first. I’m ready to fight alongside you for a Florida for all.”

The fundraising follows months of Crist raising upward of $1 million in contributions, and he appears on track to do so once again in June.

Polls, including one conducted this week for Florida Politics, indicate Crist with a strong lead in the Democratic Primary over Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. He also picked up the endorsement of former rival (and former running mate) Annette Taddeo, who just dropped out of the Governor’s race to run for Congress. Other prominent recent endorsements include progressive state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat and LGBTQ leader. The campaign lists more than 160 endorsements from individual community leaders and elected officials.

He also built union support including an endorsement from the Service Employees International Union.

But while Crist has continued to hold a strong fundraising lead among Democrats running, his tally trails far behind that of incumbent DeSantis. The Republican raised more than $10 million in both April and May, leaving the Governor with more than $112 million in cash on hand as of the start of June.