Corey Simon raises $583K in latest finance report, tops $1.54M this cycle

Corey Simon had a successful session as a member of the majority. But Democratic members of the delegation also had some wins. Image via Colin Hackley.

Sen. Corey Simon, running for re-election in one of the most closely-watched Senate contests of the election cycle, hauled in $583,195 in the last two months between his campaign and political committee accounts combined, according to his campaign.

The latest campaign finance reports for Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, aren’t public yet but are due Monday. They reflect April and May, a time when lawmakers were out of their Regular Session and free to fundraise. The prior report, which covered the first three months of the year, spanned the Regular Session which ran for two months until March 8, during which lawmakers were barred from raising campaign funds.

In total, Simon has raised $1.54 million for his campaign so far this cycle. That includes $1 million in his political committee, Friends of Corey Simon, where contributions aren’t capped, and $523,000 for his main campaign account, where contributions are capped at $1,000 per entity.

Qualifying for legislative seats starts next week and ends June 14 at noon. But so far, Simon doesn’t have a GOP Primary opponent. His prospective Democratic opponents are Kimblin Nesmith and Daryl Parks. A third Democrat, Sheria Griffin, a local teacher and union leader, initially filed for the race but withdrew in March.

Parks, a Tallahassee civil rights lawyer, announced his candidacy in early April and has said he raised more than $525,000 through May 31.

Nesmith, a Gadsden County Commissioner, has raised $28,000 as of May 31, mostly through the $25,000 he has loaned his campaign. But he’s also spent $27,000, leaving little cash on hand as the Primary gets underway.

Simon is a former Florida State University football player who won the national championship in 1999 before going on to play in the NFL for seven seasons. He defeated incumbent Sen. Loranne Ausley, a Tallahassee Democrat, for the District 3 seat in 2022.