The race to make it to the Florida Capitol is heating up, and politicians are stockpiling loads of cash to help them secure a win in November to send them to Tallahassee next year.
Unlike the top war chests in the race for Florida House seats, the top Senate war chests are a mixed bag, with a slightly higher number of Democrats snagging a spot in the top 10. Republicans have six out of the top 10 seats, with four Democrats rounding out the group.
Newly redrawn district lines have created the perfect storm for competitive and expensive campaigns in 2016.
Here’s a look at which candidates have raised the most money so far in individual contributons for their campaigns for the Florida Senate.
George Gainer, SD 2
Republican George Gainer is leading the pack in the Senate race to replace Sen. Don Gaetz.
Gainer, a Bay County Commissioner, has already fundraised and brought in a substantial amount of money.
Gainer has $516,000 cash on hand, making his campaign war chest the largest of all candidates statewide.
Jim Waldman, SD 34
Democrat and former state representative Jim Waldman has been a big fundraiser during the race for this Fort Lauderdale seat to replace Sen. Eleanor Sobel.
As of April 30, Waldman had $399,000 cash on hand, which is enough to make him competitive in the race.
Dennis Baxley, SD 12
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Belleview, will duke it out for a seat in the Senate to represent the newly-redrawn District 12, which will be left vacant since Sen. Alan Hays has decided to run for the Lake County Supervisor of Elections.
Baxley had $372,000 in his Senate campaign war chest as of April 30.
Rob Bradley, SD 5
Sen. Rob Bradley moved his re-election campaign into a newly redrawn Senate district which is made up of 10 counties and a small part of Southwest Marion County.
Bradley, an incumbent, is already in a good position moving forward in terms of campaign finance, with $362,000 cash on hand.
Matt Hudson, SD 28
Matt Hudson has worked on building his campaign war chest in recent months, preparing for a fierce battle against Kathleen Passidomo to replace Garrett Richter, a Naples Republican, in the Florida Senate.
Hudson can’t run for re-election in the Florida House, and thus has shifted his focus to the Florida Senate. He announced he would be running for the Senate last year, giving him a head start on fundraising.
As of April 30, Hudson had $345,000 cash on hand.
Anitere Flores, SD 39
Sen. Anitere Flores shifted her re-election efforts to a newly open district, and the Miami-Dade Senate lines are already shaping up to be incredibly competitive and expensive.
Flores has raised over $600,000 for her campaign, but with spending, her total campaign war chest comes out to $305,000.
Gary Farmer, SD 34
Attorney Gary Farmer, the former president of the Florida Justice Association, announced his bid for this South Florida Senate seat in October of last year. He will face off against Democrat Jim Waldman to be their party’s nominee.
Farmer had $299,000 in his campaign warchest as of April 30.
Kathleen Passidomo, SD 28
Sen. Kathleen Passidomo is running for reelection and has been heavily fundraising and adding to her campaign funds to secure a victory against her Republican opponents.
The Naples Republican faces Rep. Matt Hudson, who has also been furiously raising cash.
Passidomo has $288,000 cash on hand.
Lauren Book, SD 32
Book, a political newcomer who has never held office, made headlines when she announced she’d be running for Senate in the newly drawn west Broward County Senate District 32.
Book, only 25, has already raised a significant chunk of money for her campaign and has $271,000 cash on hand.
Dana Young, SD 18
Tampa Rep. Dana Young will be running for a new South Tampa Senate District and had already been fundraising through her reelection campaign before the new lines had even been drawn.
First elected to the Florida House in 2010, Young has become a big name among Tallahassee Republicans.
Young has $260,000 cash on hand.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
