FL-HD73: Fiona McFarland's (R) political committee cash overshadows Derek Reich's (D) fundraising success

Democratic candidate Derek Reich has narrowly outraised state Rep. Fiona McFarland via their respective candidate accounts. But the Republican incumbent still holds a massive cash advantage thanks to a political committee with six figures still in the bank.

Reich, an Osprey Democrat running with no support from the state party, has managed to raise nearly $221,000 for a rematch with McFarland. By comparison, the Sarasota Republican raised about $217,000 through her candidate account as she seeks a third term in arguably the only battleground legislative seat in Southwest Florida.

Notably, Reich also has spent far more, and as of Oct. 4 had less than $22,000 in cash on hand compared to McFarland’s nearly $96,000.

But the full cash advantage for the incumbent comes into view by looking at committee fundraising.

The McFarland-controlled Friends of Sarasota reported almost $416,000 in cash on hand at the close of the period. It keeps building money, reporting $23,000 in new donations in September and another $2,500 the first week of October.



https://floridapolitics.com/archives/701919-fiona-mcfarlands-political-committee-cash-overshadows-derek-reichs-fundraising-success/