Florida gubernatorial candidates continued to reel in the dough during the month of August, with Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam leading the way in campaign fundraising while former U.S. Rep. and Democrat Gwen Graham wasn’t far behind.
Putnam, the first Republican to officially jump into the governor’s race, raised over $1 million between his campaign account and his political committee last month.
Putnam raised around $314,000 for his campaign while his PC, Florida Grown, brought in nearly $727,000 during the same time period.
The largest donations to Florida Grown came from political action committees aligned with the Associated Industries of Florida. PAC Floridians United for our Children’s Future dumped $200,000 into Putnam’s political committee.
Firefighter Fact PAC gave Florida Grown $25,000 last month.
Florida Grown also received several donations from nurseries, ranches and farms during the month of August.
Putnam ended August in a comfortable position financially, with around $13 million cash on hand.
Gwen Graham led the way for Democrats for August fundraising, posting $360,000 in contributions between her campaign account and her political committee, Our Florida.
The largest donation to Our Florida came from New York-based businessman and philanthropist Bernard Schwartz. Graham also received $10,000 from the Miami-based construction company Capital Building.
Graham ended the month of August with $2.45 million on hand between her campaign account and her political committee.
Other Republicans and Democrats have also been busy raising cash for their campaigns, with state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, raising over $272,000 in August.
Latvala, the only other officially declared Republican gubernatorial candidate, announced his candidacy last month but had been fundraising through his Florida Leadership Committee well before August began.
Latvala ended August with $4 million cash on hand.
Though he hasn’t formally announced his candidacy for 2018, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, wasn’t too far behind Putnam in the Republican money chase.
Corcoran’s Watchdog PAC has posted impressive numbers since it opened in May, raising nearly $1.09 million in August alone.
The largest donations to Corcoran’s PAC came from attorneys like Robert Rubenstein, who chipped in $250,000 last month.
The Coral Gables-based law firm of Grossman, Roth, Yaffa, Cohen, P.A. gave $100,000 to the PAC on Aug. 24, records show.
On the Democratic side, Orlando businessman Chris King raised around $85,000 for his bid between his campaign account and his political committee in August. King raised nearly $48,000 for his political committee, Rise and Lead, last month.
Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum brought in around $79,000 last month, raising $14,000 for his political committee, Forward Florida.
King and Gillum have nearly $1.7 million and $605,000 cash on hand, respectively.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
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