Janelle Irwin Taylor
Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Julie Marcus has raised more than $91,000 for her re-election bid in the fourth quarter of 2023.
That haul includes more than $60,000 raised to her official campaign and another more than $30,000 to her political committee, Friends of Julie Marcus.
“I am sincerely grateful for the support I’ve received since launching my re-election campaign for Supervisor of Elections,” Marcus said. “Pinellas County voters understand the importance of upholding integrity in the electoral process, and I am honored to earn their trust in our mission.”
Marcus took in 193 contributions to her campaign in the final three months of 2023, averaging about $309 per contribution.
She received several top-dollar, $1,000 contributions, including from the committee for Kim Berfield; the Birchwood Inn; Teak, a restaurant at the St. Pete Pier; the Florida First Patriots political committee; lawyer David Prather; real estate developer Sunset Watch Development; HP Capital Managers; the Justin C. Johnson & Associates law firm; Ethos Development; St. Pete City Council member and House candidate Ed Montanari; the political committee for Shumaker; former Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark; the Capitol Conservative Alliance Political Committee; Sen. Ed Hooper’s political committee; former Sen. Jeff Brandes; Sen. Nick DiCeglie’s political committee; the Ramba Law Group; Lema Construction; Seneca Drywall Corp.; Bill Edwards; philanthropists Joseph and JoAnn White; and more.
Marcus retains more than $50,000 in her campaign account, as of the end of December.
Her political committee got a huge boost from Joseph White, who, in addition to his philanthropy, is a well-known plumbing supply magnate. He donated $20,000. Friends of Nick DiCeglie kicked in $5,000 to Marcus’ political committee, while Edwards donated $2,000. Ethos Investment and Floridians for Economic Prosperity each donated $1,000.
Marcus retains about $25,000 in her political committee.
Marcus, a Republican, filed for re-election in early October. Her career spans more than 20 years in the county’s election administration. She has overseen more than 300 local and more than 25 countywide elections and has directed numerous machine and manual recounts. Her résumé also boasts experience with post-election audits and the implementation of new voting systems.
Marcus has also spearheaded advancements in voter registration list maintenance, and her initiatives have sought to improve transparency, including through the acquisition of an audit system that verifies each vote across all contests and precincts.
Marcus is a certified Elections and Registration Administrator through the Election Center and Auburn University and is an active member of the Association of Florida Supervisors of Elections.
She currently serves on the Cybersecurity Task Force where she leads as the Vice Chair of Administrative Rules. She previously served on the group’s Education Committee. Marcus also serves on the county’s Business and Technology Board.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Marcus to serve as the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections in May 2020. She quickly announced she would seek election to the office after that appointment and won her first race for the seat that November.
This will be Marcus’ first re-election campaign.
Marcus succeeded longtime Supervisor of Elections Clark, whose retirement prompted Marcus’ appointment.
