Alan Cohn raised $100K in first 14 days as a CD 15 candidate

Democratic congressional candidate Alan Cohn raised more than six figures in his first two weeks on the trail.

The veteran broadcaster announced he raised $100,000 before the close of the second quarter of 2022. He reported the total 14 days after filing for the open seat in Florida’s 15th Congressional District.

“Our campaign has what it takes to win this swing seat in November,” Cohn said. “We have the message, the momentum, and have now shown that we will certainly have the money. It’s unfortunate that these races are so expensive, but if you want to reform the system, you have to win first. That’s exactly what we’re on track to doing.”

The rapid fundraising sets Cohn apart in a crowded field of candidates.

No other candidate to date has announced second quarter fundraising; Cohn announced the fundraising totals exclusively to Florida Politics in a first look.

Cohn is one of five Democrats filed in the newly drawn district. He faces political consultant Gavin Brown, comedian Eddie Geller, Army veteran Cesar Ramirez and aerospace contractor Bill VanHorn in a Democratic Primary. Cohn was the last to enter the race but has run for Congress in the region twice before, most recently in 2020.

The only other Democrat in the running to raise more than $100,000 for the race is Geller, who collected more than $100,000 in the first quarter of the year and jumped into the race in August 2021. Through March, Geller raised more than $283,000 and closed March with just over $107,000 in cash on hand.

Cohn still hasn’t said what he spent on the race so far, which will be revealed when the report shows up in the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database.

Since Cohn has run before, he did have an FEC account already open before jumping into the race. That had $21,535 in cash on hand, giving Cohn a head start on startup costs.

He also quickly racked up endorsements in the race, including from other members of Congress already serving Florida such as U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, Lois Frankel and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The latter is especially important in fundraising, as Wasserman Schultz serves as recruitment co-Chair for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

He also boasts important local endorsements from former Education Commissioner Betty Castor, former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, State Attorney Andrew Warren and NetMarket Resources owner Sam Bell III, as well as from the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers and the Communication Workers of America.