Drew Wilson
Former Florida Elections Commission Chair Nick Primrose raised more than $45,000 for his House District 18 campaign last month, new campaign finance reports show.
A former attorney for Gov. Ron DeSantis, Primrose launched a campaign for state House in March, raising nearly $120,000 in his first month running for the seat currently held by St. Johns Republican Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, who terms out in 2024.
He followed up with $17,720 in hard money fundraising last month, as well as $27,500 through his affiliated political committee, Friends of Nick Primrose.
The biggest donor last month was School Boards Matter, a political committee chaired by lobbyist David Ramba. The committee, which chipped in $20,000, was established last year to support conservative School Board candidates who “enthusiastically support the DeSantis Education Agenda.” Primrose appears to be the first legislative candidate to receive funding from the group.
Friends of Nick Primrose also accepted a $5,000 check from Davis Investment Co. of Jacksonville, and a $2,500 check from Slide Insurance. Davis Investment is owned by Green Cove Springs residents Stafford and Dorothy Davis. Slide is a Tampa-based company that has come to prominence during the property insurance tailspin, taking over policies from multiple insurers that went belly up.
Primrose’s official campaign account took in 37 contributions overall last month, including 14 checks for $1,000 — the maximum allowable contribution for state legislative races. Max donors included a political committee tied to Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond. He also received a $100 check from Gordon Dieterle, a Boca Raton lawyer who sits on the Palm Beach County Judicial Nominating Commission.
April spending totaled $11,074, including a $4,223 payment to rent The Lodge & Club and cover food, beverage and parking costs. The campaign also paid Tallahassee-based Cavalry Strategies $3,750 for advertising.
Primrose started May with $103,839 on hand in his campaign account and $42,639 on hand in his political committee.
The only other candidate for the seat thus far is Kim Kendall, a St. Augustine Republican who seeded her campaign with a $50,000 candidate loan in March. She raised $5,160 from donors last month and has just under $75,000 banked, including loans.
HD 18 covers a portion of St. Johns County. It is a safe Republican seat where Republican Donald Trump won nearly 65% of the vote in the 2020 Presidential Election.
