Mike Prendergast takes wide money lead in Citrus County Sheriff race

If dollars equal votes, then Mike Prendergast is set to win in a landslide.

The two-term Citrus County Sheriff, facing a Republican Primary with three challengers, has collected $184,707 in his campaign account, according to county elections finance reports.

His three competitors added a combined total of $80,000.

And, with five months until the Primary, Prendergast has spent $2,125 — just over 1% — mostly to his campaign consultant.

A third of the incumbent’s 376 donations are the $1,000 maximum. Of his total donors, about a third are from businesses.

His donors come from every corner of Citrus County. They include auto dealers Steve Lamb and Nick Nicholas, mining executive Frank Colitz, former Citrus County Commissioner Winn Webb, lobbyist Gene McGee, and Red’s Restaurant, a popular eatery in the Arrowhead community north of Hernando.

Eight political action committees unaffiliated with Citrus County are also supporting Prendergast — five from the same Tallahassee address.

Prendergast has already exceeded his total contributions from the 2020 campaign by $30,000.

Here’s how his challengers shape up:

— Calvin Adams Jr., retired Director of Law Enforcement for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, was the first candidate out of the gate in January 2023. Adams has collected $11,765 from 54 donors, including $2,000 from his own pocket. 

— Doug Alexander is the most recent candidate. A former Sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer, Alexander is pastor of the New Church Without Walls who organizes regular community events to feed the hungry. Despite joining the campaign just a month ago, Alexander has collected $36,195, including his own $2,000. While 15 of Alexander’s 269 donors are the $1,000 maximum, most are under $100.

— David Vincent is a former Sheriff’s captain who now is Chief of the Citrus County School District Police Department. He joined the race in July and has $29,032 in collections. Vincent has just 40 fewer donors than Prendergast, but a significant difference in the average check — $491/donor for Prendergast, $85 per donor for Vincent.

Prendergast also recently launched a website, funded by his own Citrus Law & Order PAC, designed to gather public support for his budget requests. He says the website is unaffiliated with his re-election campaign.