PANAMA CITY — Jay Trumbull continued to lap his opponents in the fundraising race in December, as he seeks the state House District 6 seat.
Trumbull, R-Panama City, followed up a strong November when he raised about $30,000 to pull in another $26,375 in monetary contributions in December. He now has $56,660 total and has spent about $8,000 so far, according to the state’s Division of Elections website.
Trumbull hosted a Dec. 4 fundraiser where he pulled in nearly $14,000, including checks from Bay County Planning Commission Chairman Michael Hunnicutt ($500) and local lawyer Waylon Thompson ($500), who dropped out of the race last year. Contractor James Finch and Panama City government’s attorney Nevin Zimmerman also cut $1,000 checks to the campaign.
His campaign released a statement earlier this month touting his fundraising haul and saying he “couldn't be happier with the support.”
Eight candidates are vying to replace state Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, who is term-limited; they include five Republicans and two Democrats and one Green Party.
Melissa Hagan, R-Lynn Haven, has the second-largest war chest for the Republican primary. She raised $2,550 in monetary contributions in December. She’s received a total of about $39,000 from loans and cash donations and spent about $7,300.
Thelma Rohan, R-Panama City, pulled in $1,300 in monetary contributions in December and also gave herself a $5,000 loan; she has $23,600 total, between loans and cash donations, and has spent about $150.
Tho Bishop, R-Panama City Beach, raised $1,000 in cash donations in December and has received a total of $2,750. He’s spent about $2,100 so far.
Jamie Shepard, D-Panama City Beach, took in $1,100 in monetary contributions in December and has about $5,950 total. She has spent about $3,700.
Other candidates — Henry Lawrence, Brian Rust and Mark Anderson — either had no contributions or received a waiver on their filing.
State Senate races
State Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, continued to pad his Senate-race war chest, looking to ward off potential competition for his 2016 run to replace his term-limited father, state Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, in his District 1 seat. The state representative raised $4,775 for the Senate race, bringing his total monetary contributions to about $391,000. He has only spent about $30,000.
Still unopposed in his re-election campaign for his state House seat, Rep. Gaetz raised no money for the race, but has pulled in $32,700 so far. He has spent about $22,000 so far.
State Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, raised $5,000 in cash in December, bringing his monetary contributions fundraising total to $133,100 plus a $500 loan. He has spent a total of about $65,000. He is unopposed in his 2014 race for his District 2 state Senate seat.
State Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, ramped up his fundraising in December, reeling in $48,870 for his bid to retain his District 3 seat in 2016. He is currently unopposed and now has $84,720 and has spent a total of $5,913.
Other state House races
Among the three candidates competing to represent state House District 5, David Drake, R-DeFuniak Springs, remains the dominant fundraiser, though he took in just $1,000 in December. Still that brings his total monetary contributions to $95,100. He has spent about $60,000.
Drake’s District 5 competition includes Libertarian candidate Karen Schoen, who raised just $630 in December. She has only $715 in total donations. Jan Hooks, a Republican and Santa Rosa Beach real estate agent, raised no money. She entered the race this month, so she did not have an opportunity to fundraise in December.
The District 5 seat is currently held by the term-limited state Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna.
State Rep. Halsey Beshears, meanwhile, prepped for a potential opponent as he runs for re-election this fall for his District 7 seat. The freshman lawmaker raised $18,150 in December, and has a total of about $89,000 in monetary contributions so far.
Beshears, R-Monticello, has spent a total of about $35,000.