Maria Revelles leads in fundraising in HD 47 Democratic field

Maria Revelles. Image via Facebook.

Maria Revelles leads a Democratic Primary field in House District 47 in overall outside donations. Anthony Nieves has more remaining cash in his campaign account, but that’s without taking into account $30,000 in a Revelles-controlled political committee and support from the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee.

The two Osceola County Democrats face off in a three-person Aug. 20 Primary along with Andrew Jeng, who has also raised five figures for his campaign.

Whoever wins the Democratic Primary will face Republican Rep. Paula Stark, a St. Cloud Republican, in one of the state’s most competitive General Election contests this fall.

Revelles, a Kissimmee Democrat and first-time candidate, has plenty of experience in politics, which shows in her fundraising effort.

“I have run campaigns for others, I never thought I was going to be a candidate myself,” she said. “I have served the community and my country and know that democracy takes many points of view”

Friends of Maria Revelles saw a surge in funding in the last reporting period, with Latino Voices For Florida and Ruth’s List Florida each donating $5,000 to the political committee. Additionally, the Florida Alliance’s Florida For Everyone committee also donated $10,000, the second time the progressive group gave that to the operation.

Though July 26, the committee had only touched about $225 of the $30,000 it has raised, providing a pile of cash available for either the Primary or General Election.

Revelles, long active in labor politics in New York and Florida, was also the Founding Director of Chispa with Florida Conservation Voters and the director of Vamos4Puerto Rico in Florida. She has advocated on policy surrounding affordable housing.

On top of the support to her political committee, Revelles also raised more than $14,000 for her campaign committee. That includes a $1,000 check in late July from an SEIU chapter and another from Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith’s Floridians For Equality committee, as well as $1,000 from Charles Rodgers. Her official account wrapped the last reporting period with more than $9,500 in cash.

Revelles also reported $7,000 worth of in-kind support from the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee.

Nieves, the Democratic nominee in the district in 2022, hasn’t raised as much, and doesn’t appear to control a political committee. His campaign through July 26 had collected just under $12,000, but he also has chipped in $15,000 in the form of a candidate loan.

That means his campaign has the most cash on hand, more than $15,000, but he’s rarely dipped into his loan.

Nieves in 2022 lost to Stark, Executive Director of St. Cloud Main Street, when both ran for a then-open seat. The victory was one of the biggest surprises of the cycle, with a Republican victorious in a district where voters favored Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election by around 13 percentage points.

The state financial crimes investigator and city ​fraud Investigator has run as the “people over profits” candidate, and embraced a democratic socialist platform in 2022. But he has credited Stark’s win to apathy among Democratic voters statewide.

“In 2022, more than half of Orange and Osceola county ​voters stayed home,” he wrote on his website. “In 2024, we will ensure ​our voices are heard.”

Jeng, a business entrepreneur, has run on nuts and bolts issues like infrastructure. He serves on the Osceola County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. He also won a Community Service Award from the Asian American Heritage Council in Orlando, and won recognition from U.S. Rep. Darren Soto with a federal honor in 2018. And he has helped organize Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations in the region.

“Andrew Jeng is the voice of the homeless, fighting for lower rent and bringing innovation to our schools,” a campaign video says. “He’s improving transportation providing more resources for the elderly and making our streets safer.”

Through July 26, he raised nearly $10,400, but after expenses closed the quarter with under $1,800 in cash. In the last one-week fundraising period, he reported a single $1,000 donation from Windemere resident Lisa Lynch. In the past few weeks, he’s reported a few maximum donations, including $1,000 from Conchita Lu Tan of Winter Springs, Wiezrue Hsiao of Orlando and Xu Li of Texas.

Meanwhile, Stark through July 26 raised more than $59,000 for her re-election in her official account, most recently a $1,000 check from Comcast and another from the Florida Financial Services PC

She faces no Republican Primary opposition but has spent nearly $24,000 already.

But a political committee, Friends of Paula, has spent considerably more than it took in. It raised no money from June 1 through July 26. Before then, the committee collected about $75,000, but has spent more than $83,000 and is only in the black thanks to more than $11,000 in debt.

Much of the spending on dining and entertainment has drawn scrutiny, as has a reliance on loans from businesses tied to Joe David, the committee Chair and Stark’s boyfriend.