Political committees linked to Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and future House Speaker Jose Oliva poured tens of thousands of dollars last month into a PAC supporting St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Rick Baker, according to finance reports posted on the state Division of Elections website.
Baker, a Republican former mayor of St. Petersburg, and incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman finished an Aug. 29 primary in a virtual tie, forcing a November runoff.
The Seamless Florida PAC, which has been widely reported as aligned with Baker, raised $214,750 in August, the finance report shows. Of that total, $25,000 came from the Let’s Get to Work political committee, which is linked to Scott, and $25,000 came from the Florida Grown political committee, which is linked to Putnam.
Also, $50,000 came from the Conservative Principles for Florida political committee, which is led by Oliva, who will become House speaker in November 2018.
Another $45,000 came from the Liberty Florida political committee, which is linked to Sen. Jeff Brandes the report shows.
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Reporting from the News Service of Florida contributed to this post.
