Dana Trabulsy dominating money race in HD 84 re-election bid

Dana Trabulsy is getting significant support from the state Republican Party as she makes her first re-election bid in a district that went for Donald Trump by less than 2 percentage points.

But it looks like her Democratic rival in the race to represent House District 84, retired Memorial Health executive Forest Blanton, has not begun to raise much money.

For the period from Aug. 1 to Sept. 9, Trabulsy raised $40,750, compared to the $1,379 Blanton raised between Aug. 6 to Aug. 26. His report covering the period from Aug. 27 to Sept. 9, due on Friday, has not yet been submitted.

Trabulsy’s cash-on-hand does not include the $18,200 she received during this period from the Republican Party of Florida in staff support and polling services.

Trabulsy also received $18,200 from 19 political committees, most of them Tallahassee-based, including $1,000 donations from two committees that Rep. Erin Grall chairs: Friends of Erin Grall and Principled Leaders for Florida. Grall is not facing any opposition in her bid for a fourth term in the House.

Collectively, Trabulsy received $4,150 from real estate interests and $3,800 from law firms or lawyers, which were the two biggest sectors represented on her donor list. Centene Management Company, a St. Louis health care company, and Gould Cooksey Fennell, PLLC, a law firm, tied for giving her the biggest donation of this period — both giving her $2,500.

The vast majority of the $20,220 she spent between Aug. 1 and Sept. 9 — $19,321 — went out the door between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9. She spent $17,552 with SimWins in Tampa on consulting and advertising materials.

After that spending, between her personal account and two political committees Friends of Dana Trabulsy and St. Lucie Strong, Trabulsy has $182,224 for her campaign.

Meanwhile, Blanton’s account shows just $482, counting a $10,000 loan to his campaign. He received some partisan support: $350 from the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida, based in Clermont. He also received $1,000 from the Green Florida PAC, based in Plantation.

Trabulsy in 2020 unseated one-term incumbent Democrat Rep. Delores Hogan Johnson by 6 percentage points. She became the first Republican to hold the seat, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers.

Redistricting did not change the light pink hue of the district’s voters, according to Matt Isbell of MCI Maps.

HD 84 covers a coastal area roughly defined by Jensen Beach to the south and the Indian River County line to the north. It extends west to the St. Lucie-Okeechobee line.