Jacob Ogles
Democratic congressional candidate Eddie Geller continues to spend more than Democratic opponents in Florida’s 15th Congressional District. But Alan Cohn outraised him substantially in July.
For the moment, however, neither holds as much cash as any Republican running for the open seat.
Geller, who entered the race for CD 15 even before redistricting left it an open seat, reported raising $67,708 between July 1 and Aug. 3, according to pre-Primary fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
For the moment, he’s still raising more than he’s spending. He dropped $55,236 on his campaign during the reporting period. Entering the final stretch of campaigning ahead of an Aug. 23 Democratic Primary, he still holds $146,052 in the bank ready to spend. That’s more than any Democratic running, but less than any Republican in the field.
Meanwhile, Cohn, a late entry who won the 2020 Democratic nomination in a different configuration of CD 15, has quickly established his fundraising ability and raised about $93,468 in the reporting period. He only spent $38,813 in the same time. That means he almost has caught up with Geller in cash, and held $131,199 as of Aug. 4.
The fundraising signals the Democratic primary has largely become a two-person race. Political consultant Gavin Brown reported another $7,540 in the period, and spent about as much, disbursing $7,286. That leaves him with just $1,152 in cash, less than any Democratic competitor in a five-person field.
Bill VanHorn pulled in $7,395 in July and spent $11,389. The five-figure spend was significant but left him with just $3,230 entering the final weeks of the Democratic Primary.
And Cesar Ramirez pulled in just $615 in new money. Reporting just $26 in spending, the campaign largely remained in wait in July. He still holds $3,683 in the bank.
The winner of the Aug. 23 Primary will run in an open seat and what many experts say could be Florida’s most competitive congressional race in the fall. About 50.86% of voters in the new CD 15 lines voted for Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election and 47.74% went for Democrat Joe Biden.
