Jacob Ogles
Orlando Democrat Josh Weil announced earlier this week he had raised more than $10 million for his congressional run. His fundraising report shows almost $8.9 million of that came between Jan. 9 and March 12.
Ahead of a Special Election in a district leaning heavily toward the GOP, Weil amassed almost $9.5 million before the close of the last fundraising period, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.
But he has already spent a good chunk of it. Perhaps most important, Weil entered the last 20-day stretch of the campaign before an April 1 Special Election with about $1.3 million in cash on hand. His campaign said Weil’s fundraising crossed the $10 million mark since the FEC fundraising period closed.
He faces Republican Randy Fine in Florida’s 6th Congressional District in a race that will decide who succeeds former U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz in Congress. Waltz resigned his seat to become President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser.
Weil won the Democratic nomination in a Jan. 28 Primary, but appears to have done most of his fundraising since that point. He has benefited from outrage from Democrats across the country looking to send a message early in Trump’s comeback term in power.
Trump endorsed Fine early in the race, ensuring the Palm Bay state Senator’s easy Primary win with GOP voters. But Democrats have used that endorsement to attract millions in fundraising to a seat that on paper should not be competitive.
Weil goes into the final stretch of the race with a serious cash advantage. Fine’s fundraising report showed that as of the end of the period, he raised less than $1 million, and had under $93,000 left in the bank for the final stretch of the race.
But voter registration data still shows Fine is the heavy favorite.
As of the March 3 closing of voter rolls, CD 6 had more than 273,000 Republicans registered and eligible to vote in the April 1 Special Election, compared to just over 142,000 Democrats. Another more than 143,000 voters are registered without party affiliation or with minor parties.
And in November, Waltz won re-election with almost 67% of the vote. Trump also won within the district by more than 30 percentage points.
