Erika Booth reports $115K in donations in Q3 alone

Osceola County School Board member Erika Booth raised around $115,000 in the last quarter alone in House District 35. That means her campaign has collected nearly $190,000 so far.

“I’m absolutely blown away by the outpouring of support,” Booth said.

The St. Cloud Republican announced her candidacy in June. The Florida House Republican Campaign Committee (FHRCC) immediately endorsed her.

Booth faces former congressional candidate Scotty Moore and real estate agent Ken Davenport in a Nov. 7 Republican Primary. The winner advances to a Jan. 16 Special Election.

Booth has spent more than any candidate in the race has raised, reporting some $174,412 in expenditures.

To date, Booth hasn’t reported any financial activity with a political committee, but has benefited from the support of the state party.

Her financial contributions include $50,000 in cash support from the FHRCC. On top of that, the Republican Party of Florida has provided another nearly $45,000 worth of in-kind support in the form of research, party staff and photography.

She has received 194 individual donations, with 122 of those coming in at the maximum $1,000 limit. A number of sitting lawmakers have donated to her campaign through committees they control, including Rep. Jennifer Canady, a Polk County Republican in line for House Speaker. Committees controlled by Reps. James Buchanan, Tiffany Esposito, Tommy Gregory and Spencer Roach all gave $1,000 contributions.

Industry political committees such as the Realtors PAC and the Associated Builders and Contractors also gave to the Republican candidate.

Booth won her School Board seat last year, winning the open Seat 5 post with more than 54% of the vote in August, according to Positively Osceola.

Now she’s running to succeed Rep. Fred Hawkins, a St. Cloud Republican who resigned his seat to take a job as President of South Florida State College.

Hawkins won the seat in November by 10 percentage points over Democrat Rishi Bagga, and Republicans want to keep the seat in the record column. But the race could be one of the most heated in a political off season in January. Voters in the district in 2020 favored Democrat Joe Biden over Republican Donald Trump for President, even as the state went red.

Booth has aligned herself with Gov. Ron DeSantis and the parental rights movement that has elevated organizations like Moms For Liberty to the political forefront.