Jacob Ogles
Rep. Anna Eskamani has now raised more than $300,000 for her re-election campaign. She wrapped the latest fundraising period with nearly three times the cash-on-hand of Republican opponent Bonnie Jackson. But Jackson also just got a lift from the state party in her efforts to oust the liberal firebrand.
Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, added another $8,705 to her coffers between Sept. 24 and Oct. 7. That brings her grand total in contributions for the cycle to $302,026.
She just blew through about a third of that, $98,734, over the two-week reporting period, and she entered the last month of the campaign in House District 42 with $76,473 still in the bank.
As for Jackson, she added just $730 in hard cash to her pot over the fundraising period. She spent it almost as fast as it came in, and she looks toward the Nov. 8 General Election with $36,672 still in the bank. That total notably includes a $10,000 candidate loan.
But Jackson saw some outside help worth far more. The Republican Party of Florida spent $8,400 on polling provided to the campaign in-kind.
Eskamani has poured far more into her re-election effort than her challenger. The most recent spending flurry included $65,590 on media, TV and film editing by the Chicago-based Snyder Pickerill Media Group. Another $25,950 landed at Arlington, Virginia-based Deliver Strategies, which is producing photography and mailers for Eskamani’s campaign. Printmeisters also picked up $2,762 worth of business in the last two weeks, as Eskamani turned to the Orlando firm for printing services.
Eskamani hasn’t seen any in-kind support from the state party, though she’s collected a smattering of checks from Democratic Women’s Clubs throughout the state.
Meanwhile, Eskamani’s People Power for Florida also has plenty of resources available should Eskamani need them in coming weeks. As of Oct. 7, the political committee had $84,112 in cash on hand.
