Jacob Ogles
Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith just dropped six figures in spending in under two weeks. Most of that will ensure he has a presence on video screens from now until Election Day.
It also substantially cuts into the Orlando Democrat’s cash reservoir a month from Election Day, and Republican opponent Susan Plasencia has a comparable amount ready to spend herself.
As of Oct. 7, Smith held $49,998 in cash in his official campaign account. That’s after he spent $136,220 between Sept. 24 and Oct. 7, most of that on advertising through Screen Strategies Media in Fairfax, Virginia. That’s more than half of the $263,732 the incumbent has raised to date for his re-election.
Smith said the bulk of invoices for his campaign are for digital and cable, spent in advance of actual airings.
He also controls a political committee, Floridians for Equality, with another $33,665 ready to deploy. The committee hasn’t spent as aggressively, though it did transfer $65,000 to the Florida Democratic Party on Sept. 17 and another $15,000 on Sept. 23. The party in turn has provided $27,739 worth of in-kind support for Smith’s re-election effort to date.
Meanwhile, Plasencia has been more measured in spending of a sparser pool of resources. She still holds $46,207 in cash to spend in the month before the Nov. 8 General Election.
But she’s also receiving in-kind support from the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee (FHRCC). Plasencia’s campaign on Sept. 24 reported $11,421 worth of staff support from the political arm for House Republicans. In total, the FHRCC has pumped $76,755 of support into the race, including $25,000 in hard cash, nearly a quarter of all Plasencia’s campaign has raised.
Additionally, the Republican Party of Florida has provided $64,000 in support, $24,000 of that in cash.
Plasencia doesn’t control a committee, though notably, a PC belonging to her brother and former Rep. Rene Plasencia’s Commitment to Opportunity, Action and Community Health still sits on $34,238 in cash.
All this takes place in a district redrawn after the decennial redistricting process and now covers a significant part of Seminole County where Smith hasn’t represented in the past. Still, about 54.84% of voters in the newly drawn House District 37 voted for Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election while only 43.44% supported Republican Donald Trump.
