Democratic contender to replace Rick Roth says she has raised more than $52K

The Democrat competing for the seat now occupied by term-limited Republican Rep. Rick Roth says her first personal campaign finance report will show she’s raised more than $52,000.

Former Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Rachelle Litt said the personal campaign report due Tuesday will reveal she’s added that total as of Sept. 30, the end of the third quarter, in her bid for the Palm Beach County seat. Her personal campaign account started collecting cash on July 24 and has raised $38,500.

Her political committee, Friends of Rachelle Lift, has also raised $14,000 since April. (The name of the committee as listed with the Department of State appears to have a typographical error.)

Litt wants to represent House District 94, which runs from the suburbs of West Palm Beach to Belle Glade’s agricultural acres. Litt said the support she’s received shows enthusiasm for an alternative to the five Republicans competing for the seat.

“It is tremendously meaningful to me that so many stakeholders from all corners of our community believe in my ability to provide the residents of District 94 with unparalleled representation in Tallahassee,” Litt said. “I have no intention of letting them down, which is why every dollar I raise will go toward building a robust voter contact and turnout operation to win this race — and flip this seat blue!”

The district will either represent a pickup seat for the Democrats or prove the strength of the 2022 inroads Republicans have made in this county, which has long been considered a Democratic stronghold.

In the last election, HD 94 voters supported Gov. Ron DeSantis by 15 percentage points over Democratic candidate Charlie Crist, according to election data analyst Matt Isbell of MCI Maps. District data from 2020 showed President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by just over 1 percentage point. Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum won by a 5-point margin over DeSantis two years prior.

None of the six candidates’ reports due Tuesday were shown as filed by early afternoon Monday, except for one candidate’s political committee report.

Republican Megan Weinberger, a nonprofit executive, is No. 1 in the money race, having raised a total of $113,000 between her personal campaign account and her political committee as of June 30. Her PC report that covers the end of the third quarter also shows she’s raised another $2,000.

For the remaining four Republicans, reports through June 30 show businessman Anthony Aguirre in the No. 2 spot, raising $70,575; Palm Beach State College Professor Christian Acosta raising $25,000; Jon Carter, who was Roth’s legislative aide, collecting $12,660; and Gabrielle Fox, a psychologist and entrepreneur, raising $4,560.