Jacob Ogles
Lake Country Property Appraiser Carey Baker needs to convince voters to support him despite his name not appearing on the November ballot. But he will have a lot more money to campaign than his opponent.
The latest campaign fundraising reports show Baker has raised more than $86,000 in the weeks since he qualified as a write-in. Republican opponent Mark Jordan, meanwhile, has raised just $16,500.
Still, Jordan will enjoy the significant advantage in November of having his name appear as a choice. He paid a qualifying fee to challenge Baker this year after Baker filed as a write-in, expecting no opposition. That means Baker needs a majority of voters in November to bubble by the “write-in candidate” spot and fill in his name.
Of course, that means Jordan paid a $10,685 qualifying fee, the only expense reported by his campaign to date. Baker paid no fee to appear as a write-in.
Most of Jordan’s money has come out of pocket. He’s also raised $5,000 in outside contributions.
Of note, all the outside contributions to Jordan can be connected to former U.S. Senate candidate and Republican donor Carlos Beruff. Charlie Michael Inc., Land Experts, Medallion Home Gulf Coast, Sumter LLC and WCP Builder — five companies connected to Beruff that share a Sarasota address — donated $1,000 a piece to Jordan.
As for Baker, he quickly raised money when news broke of the write-in opposition. Immediately after filing, he saw money come in from sources like U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster’s congressional campaign and state Rep. Rachel Plakon’s political committee.
Lake County businesses including Duct-Man, Harden/Pauli Funeral Home, Hillcrest Agency, Immunity IV, Jay Berry Signs, Mathias Foodservice Equipment, Mortgage Financial Group and Premier Pool and Spa all made $1,000 donations in Baker’s first major fundraising period.
In total, Baker has already spent more than $39,000 for a campaign in November.
That includes paying for legal advice from attorney Anthony Sabatini, a Lake County Commission candidate and Chair of the Lake County Republican Party. He also paid more than $21,000 to law firm Shutts and Bowen as he sued the Supervisor of Elections to disqualify Jordan for late qualification.
Jordan was in line at the election office before the qualifying deadline and submitted paperwork after the deadline. So did Baker, but Baker filed as a write-in with no knowledge anyone else would challenge him for the job.
Jordan, a member of the North Lake County Hospital District Board of Trustees, is brother to Lake County Tax Collector David Jordan. Four years ago, Baker won re-election as Property Appraiser unopposed after qualifying as a write-in candidate.
