John Rutherford carries $527K into Primary homestretch

The Donald Trump-endorsed Republican incumbent from Florida’s 5th Congressional District has more than half a million dollars to spend ahead of the Aug. 20 Primary.

Rep. John Rutherford of Jacksonville reports $527,393 on hand as of the end of June, with $108,417 raised during the second quarter of 2024 and $85,138 spent.

Donors to the former sheriff and four-term Congressman include the Muskogee Creek Nation, Altria, CSX’s “Good Government Fund,” the Florida Municipal Electric Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the PepsiCo “Concerned Citizens Fund,” various sugar PACs, and Walmart’s PAC for responsible government.

Rutherford is headed for a rematch with Mara Macie, one of two Primary challengers to Rutherford in 2022. She was unsuccessful, getting 18% of the vote and finishing in a distant second place, with Rutherford taking 66% in that election.

Macie’s Q2 numbers aren’t in, but she is running a grassroots campaign and has nearly $20,000 on hand. The St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee has also endorsed her.

The Primary winner will face a Democrat and a write-in in November.

Democrat Jay McGovern had no Primary opposition and will advance to November.

McGovern has yet to record fundraising; he has run for office before, albeit without electoral success.

In 2016, he lost the Democratic Primary in the old Florida’s 6th Congressional District, where he would have challenged Ron DeSantis if he had won that August. In 2020, he lost a Primary race for state House to a candidate who lost to state Rep. Wyman Duggan.

Repeat candidate Gary Koniz is also running, this time as a write-in.

The district, which includes some of Duval and St. Johns Counties, is designed for a Republican win, with more than 250,000 GOP registrants and fewer than 145,000 Democrats.