Jacob Ogles
A Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Darren Soto has ponied up more than $2 million to challenge the Kissimmee Democrat. That’s more than Soto raised the entire election cycle.
Thomas Chalifoux, a former Osceola County School Board member, just reported another $1 million candidate loan for his congressional campaign. With that, the central Florida Republican has chipped in upward of $2 million, the bulk of the money backing his candidacy.
Beyond that, Chalifoux in the second quarter of 2024 raised more than $33,000 in outside contributions, more than $6,600 of that from members of his family.
Meanwhile, he spent more than $102,000 in the second quarter as his campaign kicked into gear, showing a willingness by the candidate to spend the money he has dropped into his coffers so far.
He closed the quarter with more than $1.9 million in cash on hand, making him the top money leader in the race by far.
Soto, a four-term Congressman, raised far more in outside contributions than any of his opponents, pulling in another nearly $395,000 in donations. That puts his total contributions for the election cycle above $1.3 million. None of that comes from debt.
Over the second quarter, the Democrat spent more than $152,000 toward his re-election effort.
He wrapped the quarter with more than $896,000 in cash. That’s important, as the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) listed Soto on its of Democratic incumbents in potential pickup districts this cycle. Fewer than four months from the General Election, Soto remains the only Florida Democrat targeted by House Republicans.
Soto wasn’t seen as endangered last cycle. But as Republicans overperformed statewide, Republican Scotty Moore, a relative political newcomer, only lost to Soto by 8 percentage points.
The same election, Democratic Senate candidate Val Demings only carried 51% of the vote in Florida’s 9th Congressional District despite strong name recognition in Orange County, contributing to her statewide loss to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, a bare majority (50.4%) of voters in the district supported Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ re-election bid over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist.
Based on voter trends in Osceola County, Republicans believe they can compete in the district, despite 58% of voters in CD 9 backing Joe Biden over Republican Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election.
But the NRCC notably hasn’t picked favorites in a Primary, and Chalifoux still needs to win the GOP nomination. And his two rivals have both raised more in outside donations, even if they don’t have $2 million worth of skin in the game.
Former state Rep. John Quiñones also wants the Republican nomination. The former Osceola County Commissioner raised more than $18,000 toward that goal in the second quarter. In total, he has raised about $124,000, with $23,500 of that coming from a candidate loan.
In the second quarter, he spent more than $26,000 in campaign expenses, and he closed the period with almost $54,000 in cash on hand.
Meanwhile, Jose Castillo, a Disney resort manager, is also running in the Republican Primary. He has less campaign experience and his July fundraising report is not yet available. As of the end of March, he had loaned his campaign $75,000 and raised more than $7,000 on top of that.
