Just as Absentee Ballots were mailed out in Broward County earlier this week, Florida Speaker of the House Paul Renner has come out and endorsed Republican congressional candidate Bryan Leib in the contentious primary race in District 25.
Speaker Renner, who is one of Governor Ron DeSantis’ strongest advocates and supporters, stated that he was endorsing Leib over his opponent, retired Air Force General Chris Eddy because he was a “Strong supporter of school choice, protecting parental rights,” adding that Leib “Will always put Floridians first.”
"I am thrilled to endorse Republican Bryan Leib in Florida's 25th Congressional District. He’s a strong supporter of school choice, protecting parental rights, and is deeply committed to fighting for America's future. Bryan will always put Floridians first,” stated Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast).
Leib responded by emphasizing that the Renner endorsement added to the “unquestionable” momentum from which he feels his campaign is currently benefiting.
"Our campaign continues to grow on all fronts. The momentum we've built in a short period of time is unquestionable and is a testament to the type of leader I will be in Congress next year," said Leib in a statement. "We are honored to have the endorsement of Florida's Speaker of the House Paul Renner, who like many other Floridians, believes we are in the best position to defeat progressive Democratic Debbie Wasserman Schultz.”
Speaker Renner’s endorsement follows the endorsements of 5 America First members of Congress—Reps. Byron Donalds, Cory Mills, Claudia Tenney, Mary Miller, and Pat Fallon.
The Money
The latest FEC filings were also released this week, showing Leib outraising Eddy in Q2. Eddy holds the overall fundraising advantage over Leib as the former FBI agent has loaned his campaign $120,000 since first announcing his congressional campaign.
In total, Eddy has raised $296,265.49
Eddy's cash on hand is $88,367.22, with $9,900 of that allocated for the General Election. In other words, Eddy only has about $78,000 or so to spend against Leib, and if he didn't loan himself an additional $60,000, he would have less than $20,000 available for the primary race.
Leib entered the race very late and has raised a total of $57,236.21, of which $10,500 came via a personal loan.
Leib has $39,494.01 cash on hand to Eddy's $78,000.
Whoever wins this Republican primary race will face off with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who has $1,476,677.78 in the bank.
