Erin Huntley nears $200K raised in bid to unseat Leonard Spencer

ErinHuntley
The incumbent raised nearly nothing in the second quarter due to a fundraising moratorium.

Orange County GOP Chair Erin Huntley has raised nearly $200,000 for her bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Leonard Spencer. That includes more than $39,000 raised in the second quarter of 2025.

“Our campaign momentum continues to grow every day,” Huntley said. “We won’t be outworked in this race. I continue to be deeply grateful for those who have put their trust in me to flip this seat and represent the people of District 45. I won’t let you down.”

Huntley reported almost $33,000 in donations to her official campaign account in the second quarter. Another $6,500 went to her Conservative Solutions for Florida political committee.

Huntley faces Lee Steinhauer in a Republican Primary. Steinhauer has yet to file his first fundraising report, which is due Thursday.

The winner of the GOP nomination, which will be decided in August 2026, will face Spencer in one of the most high-profile legislative races in Florida.

Spencer last year unseated Republican Rep. Carolina Amesty, the only race in Florida where a Democrat unseated a Republican incumbent. His margin of victory was within 2 percentage points.

The incumbent hasn’t reported significant fundraising this year. Like all sitting lawmakers, Spencer faced a fundraising moratorium through an extended Legislative Session.

The Gotha Democrat to date has raised less than $9,000, including just $25 in the second quarter. He also put in a $2,500 candidate loan.

His Friends of Leonard Spencer committee reported no new fundraising in the second quarter, and closed June with under $11,000 in cash on hand.

Huntley’s support included 19 donations worth $1,000, mostly from individuals in Orange County.

The Brownlee Law Firm and Schick Roofing both gave maximum donations, as did Sasso & Sasso, a law firm run by Michael Sasso, the husband of Supreme Court Justice Meredith Sasso.

Individual donors included Dr. Matthew Knight, a member of the Florida Board of Medicine; Bruce O’Donoghue of Florida Family Voice; Mark Holecek; Spencer Schar; Bill and Debbie Coan; Paul and Becki Schick; Michael and Tina Schrimsher; Frank and Pamela Schrimsher; and Jeff Aaron.

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, Liam Fineout, A.G. Gancarski, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Andrew Powell, Jesse Scheckner, Janelle Taylor, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704