Jesse Scheckner
Democratic lawyer Jay Shooster outpaced his incumbent Republican opponent in the April-May fundraising stretch for House District 91, with a $32,000 haul.
Most of it came directly from people, the overwhelming majority of whom are South Florida residents.
He also spent $8,500, leaving himself with an imposing $485,000 between his campaign account and political committee, Future Leaders Florida, heading into June.
Shooster received more than 80 personal checks. The biggest was for $5,000 and came from Evan Hubinger, a California-based research scientist and member of the effective altruism movement responsible for a not-insignificant portion of Shooster’s campaign funding.
Senate Democratic Leader-designate Jason Pizzo of Hollywood chipped in $1,000, as did Boca Raton private investor Gary Sugarman.
Outgoing Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg gave $100.
The Florida Democratic Party also contributed $1,500 worth of in-kind aid for staff expenses.
Shooster’s spending covered consulting costs, a P.O. box, business cards, compliance services, credit card-processing fees and other general upkeep costs.
Highland Beach Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, who is running to keep the HD 91 seat she won in 2022, collected $26,500 in April and May, not counting more than $7,400 worth of in-kind aid from the Republican Party of Florida for campaign staff expenses.
She also spent more than $25,000, leaving $47,500 between her campaign account and political committee, Peggy for the People, by June.
Like Shooster, Gossett-Seidman largely tapped individual donors, receiving 40 personal checks ranging from $50 to a $1,000 contribution from Ignacio Zuleta, the founder of for-profit charter school administration company Academica.
Another company of his called School Development HC Finance gave $1,000 as well.
Her biggest single gain was a $3,000 donation from Boca Raton-based Investment Management I LLC.
Firefighters Fact PAC and Florida Professional Fire PC, political committees that give on behalf of (you guessed it) firefighters, gave $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Other political committees gave $1,000 apiece, including Heavens to Oceans, residents Alliance, St. Johns Conservative Action and People for Coastal Common Sense, a Jensen Beach-based organization chaired by Michael Millner, who also chairs some committees affiliated with political strategist Anthony Pedicini.
Gossett-Seidman’s spending covered printing, credit card-processing, photography, advertising and costs associated with her May 30 campaign kickoff.
Another Democrat in the race, Michaelangelo Hamilton, has been largely inactive fundraising-wise. Since filing for the race in January, he’s added just $200 to his campaign account, all of which he spent before March 31.
Gossett-Seidman and Shooster have both qualified for the HD 91 contest. As of 11 a.m. Thursday — one day and one hour before the deadline closes — Hamilton has not.
HD 91 covers a southern portion of Palm Beach County including Boca Raton and parts of Highland Beach and West Boca. Previously a dependable Democratic stronghold, the district grew more conservative after redistricting in 2022.
The Primary election is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.
Candidates faced a Wednesday deadline to report all campaign finance activity through March 31.
