FL-8 Pre-Primary Financial Reports
FL-8 Pre-Primary Financial Reports
By Steve Pickering
Candidate pre-primary financial reports are now available for the 8th Congressional District. The data is current as of August 4th, and provides a snapshot of candidate finances on that date. This is an update to the data reported in my previous article.
| Name | Received | Spent | Cash Avail |
| Fanelli | $47,373 | $46,851 | $518 |
| Kelly | $248,632 | $167,820 | $80,811 |
| Long | $255,324 | $159,420 | $95,902 |
| O’Donoghue | $550,864 | $472,775 | $78,089 |
| Sullivan | $63,387 | $60,641 | $2,745 |
| Webster | $326,460 | $221,365 | $105,095 |
Note: No published data was available for Ross Bieling.
The figures reflect heavy spending by each candidate as the primary election approaches. Except for Daniel Webster, who raised more than $85,000 during the 35-day reporting period, fund-raising activity was modest.
During the same period, Alan Grayson, the Democratic candidate for the general election, raised more than $209,000.
Please watch for further analysis and commentary on finances during the next week. Readers interested in reading the full reports may generate copies at the following address: http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/srssea.shtml
Resource Used to Prepare This Article:
- Federal Election Commission: http://fec.gov
Thanks for finding this Steve! Interesting. It’s good to know that Republicans raised $1,492,040 compared to Grayson’s $209,000.
Gabe, thanks for your comment… Unfortunately, the $1,492,040 number is for seven Republicans during the entire campaign. Grayson’s $209,000 was for the last 35 days. The Republican’s best money-raiser during the same time period brought in $85,000. Hopefully that will change after the primary.
In total, has has raised over $3.7 million, much more than twice the entire Republican field, and he hasn’t needed to waste money on a primary.
Here’s hoping we can quickly begin to surpass him in raising funds once the Republican candidate is selected.
I’m pretty confident the fundraising situation will change once there is a standard bearer. Hopefully the race will be nationalized at that point and the fundraising situation will find some equilibrium.
I sure am glad that it appears the original pandering to the “newly awakened” with the battle cry that “all doctors who have been practicing more than two years must lose their licenses!!” Oh, wait. Was that, “All teachers who have been teaching more than two years must be removed from their classrooms!!”? Or maybe it was, “All mechanics who have been repairing vehicles for more than two years must lose the occupational licenses!!
Similarly, the REAL issue in politics is CHARACTER (or, it SHOULD be), and POSITIONS ON ISSUES…Not the fact that someone has been IN office, and has learned too much about the issues to be allowed to continue to serve!!
I guess if EVERYONE used the criteria I use, we’d have Dan Webster as the District 8 Congressman. But why use our heads, when we can use our ANGER?
Russ Cyphers, you are wrong. If you chose based on character and integrity the choice would be Kurt Kelly. You obviously have not checked out http://www.websterfail.org. Daniel Webster is a career politician that has been corrupted by his 28 years. He was part of a culture corruption at the expressway authority and was dishonest with voters about whether or not he was going to run.
Kurt Kelly voted for Sunrail. He also voted to increase fees on Floridians to the tune of $1 billion. Not to mention his stupid memorial “urging Congress and President Obama” to pass an Internet sales tax. What a fiscal conservative!
Anyone who has held political office has a public record that shows both their successes and rough spots. While it is easy to throw stones at legislators for past individual votes, it makes more sense to judge them for their overall record and background. Although I can find points of disagreement with all seven Republican candidates, that won’t stop me from choosing one of them.
Russ, you make an excellent point about experience. Rejecting a candidate merely because of prior political experience just doesn’t make sense. On the other hand, when a politician consistently introduces or approves legislation we dislike, or behaves unethically or illegally, it’s time to back a new candidate.
The “career” politician label is puzzling. As in most states, Florida legislators don’t have the option of making politics their full-time career unless they are independently wealthy. Both Daniel Webster and Kurt Kelly have businesses that are completely separate from their legislative elected positions.
Sam, you don’t expect us to give credibility to a blog with anonymous, poorly-written articles and a completely private domain registration, do you? For all we know, Alan Grayson’s campaign could be the creator of that site.
I saw/heard Patricia Sullivan for the first time at the Republican gathering at West Port High School in Ocala a few weeks ago. I listened to all of the other candidates and decided that she is the most impressive of the lot. Afterward, I researched all the candidates and again she stood out. I made sure I told another 30 active Republican voters that I know here in this county to also research all candidates and they too see the obvious with her. It is a simple vote for me next Tuesday. I will vote for Patricia Sullivan because I believe she is the best candidate in this Republican field that can represent the party in the November election against the Democrat and win. It really is that simple.