Several candidates in the contested Republican congressional race for Florida’s 19th district are beginning to pull away from the crowded field.
The latest Federal Elections Commission (FEC) fundraising reports have just been released and it’s become very clear that the members of the million-dollar club will be the candidates with the best shot of winning this highly touted congressional seat.
It has proven difficult to raise money during the Coronavirus pandemic, so do the self-funders have a better shot at winning in 2020?
When Dr. William Figlesthaler and his millions of dollars jumped into the race, Florida’s political world took notice. “Dr. Fig” has said that he is willing to spend whatever it takes to win the race, as he expects independent expenditure PAC’s to get into the race and possibly spend millions against him.
Now businessman Casey Askar (pictured) has joined the race, and in the first 11 days of his campaign managed to raise $500,000. Askar has also loaned his campaign a whopping $3,000,000, bringing his cash on hand total to $3,482,873.
Figlesthaler’s has total receipts are $ 1,309,737 with $1,011,164 on hand
Florida House Majority Leader and the presumptive frontrunner in the race, Rep. Dane Eagle, has raised a total of $504,737 with $375,336 of that still in the bank
Rep. Byron Donalds is new to the race and was able to put together a solid fundraising quarter with $338,163 reported.
The rest of the field, well, didn’t raise as much but don’t count them out.
With so many candidates in this race, expect that a couple of them will serve as spoilers.
Daniel Severson, who recently received the endorsement of former Tea Party leader Michael Johns, could be in a position to make a respectable run at the top candidates.
“Show me the money.”—Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr in the movie “Jerry McGuire”
