Kelly Hayes
Jason Holloway and former Rep. Kim Berfield are both starting to ramp up spending as they approach the House District 58 Republican Primary.
Holloway, a former legislative aide for Sen. Darryl Rouson, dished out $32,634 in the latest finance period, which spanned from July 16-22. His spend was heavy on media and advertising, allocating $15,463 for media production, $14,547 for social media advertising and another $2,611 on texting services and TV spots.
From July 2-15, his campaign spent another $16,331. That included $12,068 for media production, and $4,175 for polling.
In the same timeframe, Holloway’s political committee, Keep Florida Red 2022, spent $22,521. That includes $7,390 on mailers, $12,525 on surveys, $2,500 on consulting and $106 on legal services.
From July 2-22, Berfield’s campaign dished out $26,310 — $22,586 on mail services, $3,088 on advertising and $613 on printing services. A political committee affiliated with the former lawmaker, Friends of Kim Berfield, has not yet reported any fundraising or spending.
As for fundraising, Holloway’s campaign raised $6,790 from July 2-22 from 13 donors. He saw five $1,000 donations from organizations like Westshore Venture, Hunters Ridge Apartments, Deeb Family Homes and Alico Offices. His affiliated political committee did not report any fundraising this period.
Berfield raised $1,900 in the same timeframe from seven contributors, including one $1,000 donation from the Florida Outdoor Advertising PAC.
A third Republican challenger, Jim Vricos, reported raising $225 from July 2-22, as well as $3,500 in self-funding. He spent $3,300, including $1,329 on campaign pens, $280 on advertising, $700 on website services and $571 on accounting services.
Since entering the race, Holloway has amassed $208,490 between his two funding sources, while Berfield has collected $86,286. Vricos has raised $13,065.
The candidates are running to replace Rep. Chris Latvala. Latvala is leaving office because of term limits and is running for Pinellas County Commission. Latvala already has endorsed Berfield as his preferred successor.
HD 58 covers parts of the middle and northern portions of Pinellas County. The Primary Election is Aug. 23.
A Democrat, Joseph Saportas, entered the race in late July. Saportas ran an unsuccessful campaign for Pinellas County Tax Collector in 2020, losing to incumbent Charles Thomas after running a largely unproductive campaign against a powerful incumbent.
