Jacob Ogles
After an extended moratorium on fundraising, LaVon Bracy Davis raised more than $50,000 in three days for a Senate campaign.
But with a Democratic Primary days away and two opponents, Coretta Anthony-Smith and Alan Grayson, massively outspending her, will that be enough money to make up for lost time?
Democratic voters in Senate District 15 will cast their votes in a Special Primary on Tuesday. Polls close at 7 p.m.
Bracy Davis, a sitting Representative, filed mid-Legislative Session to run for late Sen. Geraldine Thompson’s seat in the Florida Senate. State law required that she submit an irrevocable resignation from her seat, effective Sept. 1. Still, she also could not raise any money for her campaign until the end of the Session, which ended up being extended until Wednesday last week.
Before the Session, Bracy Davis raised more than $10,000 for the House campaign, most of that in the few weeks between Thompson’s death and the March 4 start of Session.
But the vast majority of Bracy Davis’ funding occurred between June 16 and 19, after Sine Die and before the close of the final fundraising period preceding the Democratic Primary. The Ocoee Democrat’s campaign raised more than $50,100 in that time. Through that reporting deadline, the campaign spent more than $19,000, but still held more than $41,000 in cash on hand.
“For the $50,000 raised in just three days — that momentum was real,” Bracy Davis said. “So many people had been waiting for the moment to show their support, and when I went live with a donation request video the day we gaveled out, they responded with strength and clarity. The people spoke — and I hear them.”
Support included $1,000 donations from major political committees for the Florida Homebuilding Industry and Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association, and from prominent political donors, including Orlando attorney John Morgan and lobbyist Ron Book.
Bracy’s Liberated by Democracy political committee, however, raised no money after the close of Session, and has spent less than $4,600 on the campaign. As of June 19, the committee had more than $12,400 in the bank to spend.
All this means that after starting the race as the only sitting lawmaker and with the support of Thompson’s family and allies in Tallahassee, two opponents will outspend Bracy.
Grayson, a former Congressman, only raised a little more than $6,200 for his campaign. However, he self-funded his campaign coffers with more than $242,000 in candidate loans. Through the last fundraising period, he had spent nearly $218,000 campaigning for the seat. A political committee under his control has not filed any reports this year.
Meanwhile, Gotha attorney Anthony-Smith raised almost $59,000 for her campaign on top of a $175,000 loan. Through her last report, she spent more than $98,000 on the race, and still had almost $136,000.
Meanwhile, former Sen. Randolph Bracy, an Oakland Democrat and Bracy Davis’ brother, hasn’t filed a report on fundraising past May 8, but at that point, he spent a little more than $6,700 and had raised less than $10,000, most of that through a $6,000 candidate loan. He also controls a committee, A Better Us, but that has not reported any activity.
As the Democratic Primary nears, Bracy Davis said she remains proud of the campaign she was able to run and spent much of the time she wasn’t in Tallahassee knocking on doors and greeting constituents. She could have avoided a moratorium by leaving her House seat sooner, but said it was too important to stay in office as a budget came together.
“I made the decision not to resign my position immediately — even though I knew it would severely limit my ability to raise campaign funds — because I believed the people of Florida, especially those in West Orange County, deserved full representation during the budget process,” she said. “With our beloved Sen. Thompson no longer with us, I felt a responsibility to stand in the gap. That decision paid off: we secured significant wins in the state budget that will directly benefit our community.”
The winner of the Democratic Primary will hold a substantial advantage in the Sept. 2 Special Election.
