Dan Webster outraises money-burning Anthony Sabatini 3-to-1

Daniel Webster says Anthony Sabatini's congressional campaign stated with a lie.

U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster outraised GOP Primary opponent Anthony Sabatini more than 3-to-1 in the third quarter. Moreover, Sabatini burned through every dollar he raised and then some.

Webster, a Clermont Republican, collected close to $143,000 from July through September, according to the latest Federal Election Commission reports. By comparison, Sabatini, a Howey-in-the-Hills Republican, raised just over $46,000.

But Sabatini narrowly outspent Webster, pumping almost $51,000 into his race while the incumbent spent under $49,000.

The result? Webster closed the quarter with more than $430,000 in cash-on-hand. Sabatini has almost $166,000, a noteworthy amount but almost $4,700 less than he had at the end of June. With a GOP Primary in Florida’s 11th Congressional District nearly a year away on Aug. 20, that’s obviously a step in the wrong direction.

It appears Sabatini’s attacks on a range of Republicans in Washington has fallen flat with donors. He labeled U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, as a “fat RINO” during an unprovoked argument with the Nebraska Young Republicans. Bacon notably just led a successful opposition to a Speaker bid by Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan.

He also called U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas a “dumbass” for supporting Majority Leader Steve Scalise for Speaker over Jordan.

And when former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich called for the House to temporarily empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry so Congress can get some business done, Sabatini responded, “Shut the hell up you RINO fossil!”

It’s a rhetorical tactic well-known to those who followed Sabatini’s two terms in the Florida Legislature, where leadership eventually exiled him to a basement office as he antagonized legislative leadership.

At the same time, Sabatini gained notoriety on the White nationalist speaking circuit and won a leadership position in his local party after allying himself with former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. After a failed run for an open congressional seat in 2022, he’s hoping to leverage his notorious reputation to challenge longtime incumbent Webster.

Sabatini’s donors include Osceola School Board member Jon Arguello and Lee County Republican Party Chair Michael Thompson.

Webster’s supporters, meanwhile, include Lake County Property Appraiser Carey Baker, a one-time mentor of Sabatini, former state House Speaker Mike Haridopolos, and local industrialist Chick Gregg. U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack’s American GRIT PAC also donated to Webster, as did Lakeland-based grocery chain Publix.