Crossing $5M mark with Q2 fundraising, Brian Mast’s draw dwarfs opponents

For Brian Mast, estuaries are an important part of Florida's ecosystem.

Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast didn’t quite reach the $1 million he drew last quarter, but he did cross the $5 million-mark for total money raised — showing holdings that dwarf all his competitors’ funds combined.

Mast, seeking his fourth term in Congress, raised $773,885 in the second quarter of 2022, and spent $842,500. As of June 30, he held more than $2.7 million to continue representing Florida’s 21st Congressional District that was recently renumbered from Florida’s 18th Congressional District.

The district’s geographical lines remain largely the same in the wake of redistricting, however, including northern Palm Beach County and extending into Martin and St. Lucie counties.

As a veteran who lost both his legs in Afghanistan to an improvised explosive device, Mast’s story appears to have a broad reach across the country, attracting donors far and wide, most of them retirees.

Donors giving the maximum for an individual, $5,800, were Heinz Fridrich, a Fernandina Beach retiree; Keisha Paquin, CEO of Medical Supply Advisors in Stuart; and Jay Faison, founder of Clearpath Foundation in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is a nonprofit aimed at developing and advancing policies that accelerate breakthrough innovations that reduce emissions in the energy and industrial sectors.

Donations to Mast through WinRed hit $75,385 last quarter, bringing the total raised through the Republicans’ digital fundraising platform this election cycle to $1.8 million.

The biggest PAC contributions Mast received were from Delta Airlines, in Washington, and National Beer Wholesalers Association, based in Alexandria, Virginia, which both gave Mast $2,500 checks.

For expenses, a $213,500 check to the National Republican Congressional Committee was the biggest line item in Mast’s second quarter report.

For campaign services, the biggest check, $175,174, went to Image Marketing in Frederick, Maryland. Other big expenses in the second quarter were $60,000 to MLSC in Coral Gables for strategy consulting; $55,000 to Media Placement Services in Las Vegas for digital advertising; nearly $50,000 to Red Rock Strategies in Las Vegas for digital consulting; and $35,605 to Kessler Creative in Jacksonville for direct marketing.

Republican Jeff Buongiorno, a former deputy sheriff turned businessman, is Mast’s closest competitor in the money race. His financial reports show he’s added $533,000 to his campaign — with $504,498 coming from his own pocket.

His second quarter report to the Federal Elections Commission was filed three days late and shows he added $2,339 from donors to his campaign for the three-month period that ended June 30. He spent $111,577 in that time.

Buongiorno’s bigger checks in the second quarter were $17,368 to Rainmaker Strategies in Floyd, Virginia for general consulting and campaign management and $13,750 to American Advisors in Fleming Island for general consulting and signs.

After those expenses, Buongiorno was left with nearly $308,000 to spend on his campaign.

Melissa Martz, a lawyer who has posed in campaign advertising with a rifle, raised $27,784 in the second quarter and spent $29,941. That left her with a total of $6,450 to spend. She’s raised a total of $321,715 in the race.

Republican Ljubo Skrbic, a medical doctor, raised $10,000 in the second quarter, spent $20,505, which left him with $42,449 to spend on his campaign.

The only Democrat in the race, a former candidate for state Senate, Corinna Balderramos Robinson, ended the second quarter with her campaign running $47.77 in the red. She raised $5,859 and spent $9,017, according to her last report. She will face the winner of the Aug. 23 GOP primary.

The campaigns were facing a deadline last week to report all financial activity up through June 30.