Andrew Gutmann reports strongest quarter among GOP challengers to Lois Frankel

West Palm Beach Republican Andrew Gutmann boasted the strongest fundraising quarter of any challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel. He closed the period with nearly double the cash on hand of closest GOP rival Dan Franzese.

But Frankel, first elected in 2016, still sits on nearly $1.4 million in cash, and likely won’t face a Democratic Primary.

Gutmann, who has argued that the heavily Jewish district could be competitive this cycle, added more than $186,000 to his war chest between the start of the year and the end of March.

“I am very proud of our team and what we have done thus far,” Gutmann said.

“Momentum is on our side as we move into the important summer months, and we are confident in a primary victory. Lois Frankel has abdicated her responsibility to the children of America by either endorsing or passively accepting the extremist policies of the woke radicals that now control the Democratic Party.  Our campaign is positioned to send Frankel into permanent retirement.”

Franzese notably has raised more money overall than Gutmann, collecting nearly $625,000 over the course of the election cycle to Gutmann’s $587,000. But he spent more and didn’t have as strong a first quarter. Over a three-month period to start the year, he raised just over $99,000.

Meanwhile, Franzese this cycle has burned through nearly $1.6 million in spending.

That has left him with less than $136,000 in cash compared to Gutmann’s nearly $260,000.

The only other Republican who reported any financial activity in the cycle to date is Deborah Adeimy, who collected about $55,000 over the quarter. That brings her total fundraising to about $129,000. She wrapped March with more than $90,000 cash in the bank.

As for Frankel, she raised just under $263,000 over the quarter but has been sitting on the largest war chest all cycle.

She’s collected upward of $1.1 million in this election cycle as she seeks re-election. Added with leftover money from prior runs, she’s sitting on about $1.4 million in cash. That’s even after spending upward of $415,000, more than any other candidate in the race.

Gutmann, a financial author, gained some national prominence after writing about an alleged “woke” takeover of his daughter’s New York private school.

He has said the situation in Israel makes the heavily Jewish district ripe for a Republican flip.

“Republican voters continue to swell the voter rolls of Palm Beach County, and conversely, radicals within the Democratic Party have sent the message to the district’s significant number of Jewish Democratic voters that they couldn’t care less about the safety and security of Israel or the Jewish-American community,” Gutmann said.

Frankel notably has been a staunch Israel ally, but fought with members of her own party about it. She quit the House Progressive Caucus after splitting with the group over an aid package for Israel.