Is Maria Sachs running for re-election?
State Sen. Sachs might be seeking a another term in the Florida Senate, but her fundraising performance in the third quarter seems more appropriate for an noncompetitive House race than for what will likely be the only competitive state Senate race in 2014.
According to the latest campaign finance report with the Division of Elections, the Delray Beach Democrat collected only $28,650 in donations from July 1 to September 30, for a total of $71,440 for the seat that runs up the coast from Fort Lauderdale to Boynton Beach.
A number of incumbent Republicans running for re-election to the Florida Senate — at least the ones running unopposed — posting numbers in the mid-to-upper $100,000s and a few hitting the $200,000 mark.
So asking if Sachs is “really” running might be a fair question.
For example, first-term GOP Sen. Jeff Brandes had a strong third quarter of fundraising, adding $55,530 to his re-election bid. This brought the St. Petersburg-based Senator over the $200,000 mark in his District 22 race. In the previous quarter, Brandes brought in $32,100 versus Sachs’ $7,000. Like Sachs, Brandes is also running currently unopposed.
Third-quarter donors to Sachs’ campaign are all the usual suspects you would find in a South Florida Senate race: $500 check from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, $3,500 from Disney, $2,500 from racing and gambling interests, and $10,500 from consultants and other lobbyists. Sachs also took $3,000 from the Florida Democratic Party to pay her campaign staff.
It is not that Sachs is sitting still, exactly. She has spent nearly $8,000 to date on her campaign (such as it is). Most of it — $6,350 — went out during the third quarter, primarily for consulting fees. However, Sachs’ only advertising expenditures so far were $600 for ads with the Florida AFL-CIO and $1,000 to her son Taylor, for social media services.
