A.G. Gancarski
The Republican Primary in Florida’s 5th Congressional District is lopsided in terms of early fundraising.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, running for his fifth term, has more than $269,000 on hand. His opponent Mark Kaye, a podcaster and media personality who announced his run this Spring, has just over $5,300 to spend.
Rutherford, a former Jacksonville Sheriff, raised nearly $99,000 in the second quarter of 2025. Among his prominent donors were PACs associated with L3Harris, Altria, BAE Systems, Chevron, CSX, General Dynamics, JetBlue, Lockheed Martin, NextEra, Publix, TECO, U.S. Sugar and others.
Kaye, who recently joked that Rutherford was “ready to retire,” has fallen short of what he promised when he got in the race in terms of fundraising.
The challenger said last month that “donations are pouring in from across the country,” and that he expects to “lean heavily on grassroots energy, digital outreach, and the loyal support of thousands of his listeners called ‘Kayetriots’ across Florida and beyond.”
Thus far, those supporters are pacing themselves.
The incumbent has faced Primaries consistently.
In 2022 and 2024, he got roughly 2/3 of the vote against conservative populist Mara Macie.
The district, which includes some of Duval and St. Johns counties, is designed for a Republican win in any General Election, with more than 250,000 GOP registrants and fewer than 145,000 Democrats.
