Lois Frankel holds $1M as she mounts re-election bid

Lois Frankel

U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel passed the $600,000 mark raised this election cycle as her closest Republican competitor failed to sustain his early momentum, campaign finance reports show.

Andrew Gutmann had received national attention as an “anti-woke education activist” before moving to Palm Beach County from New York and declaring his candidacy to represent former President Donald Trump’s congressional district. Florida’s 22nd Congressional District also covers the central county from the Boca Raton-Delray Beach line to West Palm Beach.

Gutmann must get by two other Republicans running. In his first report, which covered the second quarter, he had bragging rights after raising $73,000 more than Frankel, the six-term West Palm Beach Democrat.

For the report due last week, however, his campaign receipts showed a drop of $235,000 from his initial haul. He collected only $66,415 during the third quarter.

Frankel, meanwhile, maintained her fundraising pace. For the third time in 2023, her quarterly take exceeded $200,000. With expenses totaling $67,000, Frankel now holds more than $1 million, including carry-over funds from prior cycles.

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits PAC, based in Miami gave Frankel $10,000, the largest from a single donor during this period. Union donations accounted for more than half of Frankel’s donations from organizations, adding $32,000 to her campaign war chest. That represented the sector donating most. Trade associations represented the second-best sector for her. From them, Frankel collected $7,000.

Individual donations to Frankel’s campaign this period reached nearly $140,000.

Those hitting the limit for donating to Frankel included Andres Fanjul of Palm Beach, the President of Florida Crystals — Okeelanta; Raysa Fanjul of West Palm Beach, who is connected with the billionaire sugar family; Dorothy Frankel, a Greenacres retiree; Jill Glazer, of Palm Beach, wife of the Tampa Buccaneers owner; Paul Jerkovich, a New York City property manager at Solbert Management Corp.; Carlos Morrison, a West Palm Beach restaurateur; Stephen Patterson, a Delray Beach retiree; Sergio Rok, a Miami real estate developer; and William L. Watson, a West Palm Beach restaurant owner.

Her biggest-ticket spending item was $28,000 for fundraising consulting, with $18,000 going to Lawlor Strategies and $10,000 going to the Strathdee Group, both in Washington.

The next-biggest single expense went for software: she spent about $8,200 for that. Frankel also shelled out nearly $6,000 for restaurant visits and catering, with the Sonoma Restaurant in Washington grabbing the largest share with a catering bill of $1,300. In Florida, ER Bradley’s on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach and John G.’s Restaurant in Manalapan fed the Frankel campaign.

As of Sept. 30, Frankel’s campaign counted $1.08 million on hand.

That compares to Gutmann’s campaign kitty, now at about $321,000.

Gutmann, once a Federal Reserve analyst, later an investment banker-turned-entrepreneur, became something of a minor celebrity among the “anti-woke” conservative movement in April 2021. That’s when several news outlets reported on a scathing letter he sent hundreds of fellow parents at The Brearley School in New York City in which he explained why he was unenrolling his daughter.

The letter hit on issues that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have targeted in recent years, including “obsession with race” and diversity, equity and inclusion.

All of Gutmann’s contributions this period came from individuals and no organization or political party contributions. Retirees account for nearly half of Gutmann’s donors. Giving the maximum $6,600 donation allowed were Bat-Sheva Peters, a Boca Raton homemaker, and Thomas Peters, a Boca Raton retiree.

When it comes to expenses, consulting accounted for the largest share of Gutmann’s spending — $18,340. The campaign spent $9,000 with ASK Communications LLC, in Boca Raton for strategy consulting, $6,580 with Political Capital for fundraising consulting in Jacksonville and $2,760 with Front Line Strategies in Tallahassee for strategy consulting.

Although his campaign coffers contain just a fraction of Frankel’s, it dwarfs his other two competitors. He has more than 10 times the amount his closest Republican Primary competitor has, bolstered by a $110,000 loan he made to his campaign at the start.

He’ll face a test to get by them on Aug. 20. As of Sept. 30, his Republican competitors’ campaign reports show they have far fewer resources than does Gutmann

Dan Franzese collected $6,200 and spent $63,333 this period and had $28,923 on hand at the quarter’s end.

Deborah Adeimy collected $14,236 and spent $2,494 this period. She had $12,238 at the end of the quarter.