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GOP candidates mostly outraise Democratic opponents in key legislative races

A vast majority of open state House and Senate seats are being contested in the November general election.
Douglas Soule
/
WUSF
A vast majority of open state House and Senate seats are being contested in the November general election.

A vast majority of open state House and Senate seats are being contested in the November general election.

But not every contest is considered competitive in terms of fundraising or registered voters.

Increased attention has already been cast on several races as the cycle moved from the primary election to the general election, and in most cases, the Republican candidate has more resources than their Democratic opponent.

Senate District 10: Maitland Mayor John Lowndes eased through the Democratic primary for the Republican-leaning Central Florida district and his reward is a general election matchup against well-funded Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, who has been in the Legislature since 2010 and the Senate since 2020.

Brodeur, chairman of the Agriculture, Environment, and General Government Appropriations Committee the past two years, had more than $95,000 from the nearly $373,000 he's raised through his campaign account, according to numbers posted by the Division of Election. Brodeur also reported more than $1.9 million available in two political committees he oversees: Citizens for Solutions and the Freedom and Liberty Fund.

Lowndes exited the primary with just over $42,000 on hand from the $77,000 he raised through his campaign account and a little more than $14,600 in the political committee Friends of John Lowndes.

Senate District 14: Republicans have targeted the Hillsborough County district captured by Democrat Sen. Brian Nathan of Tampa during a special election in March to replace Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. Once again former state Rep. Josie Tomkow, who was part of the House leadership prior to her exit, is the Republican candidate. Tomkow, with more than $128,000 mostly from the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, had more than $131,000 on hand in her campaign committee and nearly $2.9 million in two campaign committees: Florida Farmers and Ranchers United and Friends of Josie Tomkow.

Nathan, who like Tomkow avoided a primary challenger, has just under $13,000 still on hand from nearly $48,000 he brought in through his campaign committee. He also had a little more than $63,000 available through the political committee Friends of Brian Nathan and has received more than $60,000 in campaign assistance from the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Florida Democratic Party.

Senate District 26: In a matchup of former state House members, West Palm Beach Republican Rick Roth, who staked his campaign with $250,000 of his own money, is going up against Lake Clarke Shores Democrat David Silvers, who loaned his campaign $25,000.

The two have been running to replace term-limited Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, D-Plantation, in the Democratic-leaning district since before they had to exit the House due to term limits in 2024. Roth and Silvers were the only candidates to qualify for the office.

Including his loan, Silvers had $127,500 in his campaign treasury from $143,000 raised. There was another $177,000 available from the political committee Friends of David Silvers.

At the same time, Roth had $119,800 on hand in his campaign committee from $323,000 raised.

The political committee Palm Beach Prosperity Fund, which Roth chairs, held $28,363 but hasn't been very active in the current election cycle.

Senate District 38: Miami businessman Richard Lamondin would like to make things uncomfortable for Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud as she seeks reelection in the Republican-leaning district.

Lamondin, who put $100,000 of his own money into the campaign, had just over $138,000 on hand as the cycle moved into the general election phase.

But Calatayud had more than $328,000 in her campaign account and $1.4 million in the political committee Vision & Integrity for Florida. Calatayud has also benefited from more than $170,000 worth of in-kind assistance, mostly through research, consulting and polling from the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The contest also features Jeffrey 'Doc' Solomon of South Miami who is running without any party affiliation and had nearly $7,300 on hand from the $23,000 he's raised.

House District 45: Republicans have targeted this Central Florida seat since Democrat Leonard Spencer unseated Carolina Amesty in 2024.

Republican Erin Huntley, chairwoman of the Orange County GOP, has raised $239,000, of which $188,700 was on hand in the latest report.

Spencer, a former Disney executive, has nearly $70,000 on hand from the $83,000 he's raised, while the political committee Friends of Leonard Spencer held another $72,000.

House District 87: This eastern Palm Beach County district has been in the national spotlight since Democrat Emily Gregory of Jupiter won the seat in a special election in March, because the district includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

Republican Jon Maples, who lost to Gregory in the spring, is back. After winning the primary, he had spent most of the $147,000 raised through his campaign committee and held another $109,000 in the political committee Friends of Jon Maples. Gregory has raised $105,000 and had $61,000 on hand.

House District 106: The race for this Miami-Dade County district won twice by Rep. Fabian Basabe took a major turn in late July when a jury found the Miami Republican committed sexual harassment against two male staffers.

Basabe had raised about $100,000 through his campaign account and the political committee Common Sense For Florida, but there's been few contributions since the end of June.

Democrat Lucia Baez-Geller, a former Miami-Dade County school board member, emerged from a primary victory with just under $48,000 on hand from more than $334,000 raised for the contest.

Copyright 2026 WUSF 89.7

Jim Turner - News Service of Florida
Jim Turner - News Service of Florida
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