Frederica Wilson nears $200K raised this cycle toward eighth CD 24 term

Since winning re-election to a seventh term in November, Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson has raised just shy of $200,000 to again defend her seat representing Florida’s 24th Congressional District.

She raised $91,000 of that sum between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to her filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Carry-over funds from prior campaigns placed her total holdings by the end of this year’s third quarter at about $604,000. Her campaign also carried roughly $15,000 in debt, all of which was owed to her for out-of-pocket campaign expenses.

Wilson in Q3 collected donations from 19 people, half a dozen trade groups and sugar businesses. Several transportation companies gave as well.

Her biggest individual gain, $10,000, came from Minnesota-based American Crystal Sugar. Idaho-headquartered Amalgamated Sugar Co. and Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, a North Dakota-based sugar grower, each gave $1,000.

In terms of donor numbers, no interest gave more than labor. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters donated $4,000 to Wilson’s campaign. The American Association for Justice, a group representing trial lawyers, gave $2,000.

The National Education Association, self-described as “the nation’s largest professional employee organization” with some 3 million members working in public education, contributed $2,000. So did the Transport Workers Union whose Miami-Dade County chapter, TWU Local 291, is led by South Florida AFL-CIO President Jeffrey Mitchell.

Wilson also took $1,000 checks from the American Postal Workers Union and International Union of Operating Engineers.

Rail and air companies chipped in too. CSX Corporation, which owns tracks in Miami-Dade that county officials are targeting for commuter services, gave Wilson $2,000, as did railroad company Union Pacific, which does not have a presence in the Sunshine State.

American Airlines donated $1,353, adding to another $1,000 it gave earlier this year. Delta Airlines kicked in $972.

Wilson received $5,000 from Truist, formerly known as BB&T; $1,500 from Comcast, which gave $1,000 earlier this year; and $1,000 from insurer Aflac.

She also accepted $5,000 from former state Rep. Willie Logan; $3,000 from North Miami Vice Mayor Alix Desulme, adding to $3,000 he gave before this cycle; and $1,500 from David Marom, founder of New York-based real estate development firm Horizon Group, which does business and has offices in Miami.

Wilson spent more than $62,000 in Q3. About half went to travel, lodging and general upkeep costs, including $8,274 for a campaign office in Miami Gardens.

She spent $13,500 on a retainer fee for Advanced Network Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based fundraising and event planning business. Another $3,150 went to the Miami Gardens-based Hard Rock Stadium for catering and a campaign event.

Other expenditures included $10,500 in retainer fees for Plantation-based MDW Communications, $500 donations to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and The Links Foundation, $1,000 for events with the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and Horizons Marketing Group in Fort Lauderdale, and a $500 payment to the South Florida AFL-CIO for a full-page advertisement.

Wilson’s sole challenger so far, Republican Patricia Gonzalez, has yet to report any fundraising or spending. Gonzalez ran in CD 24 last year as well, but dropped out of the race before the August Primary.

Wilson is now seeking an eighth consecutive term in CD 24, which historically has been safe for Democrats. The district largely covers a north-central portion of Miami-Dade, including Aventura, Bay Harbor Islands, Miami, Miami Gardens, Miami Beach, North Bay Village, North Miami Beach, North Miami, Opa-locka, Sunny Isles and parts of Hialeah and Miami Lakes.

Federal candidates faced an Oct. 15 deadline to report all campaign finance activity through Sept. 30.