Florida Republican incumbents andĀ candidates are collecting ten times as much money in independent political action campaigns than are Democrats.
A FloridaPolitics.com review of 140 such PACs affiliated with office holders or candidates ranging from Gov.Ā Rick ScottĀ to state representatives finds a nearly complete dominance of the political financing strategy. More than 100 Republicans have PACs to support their messages, policies and election campaigns, and combined they finished January with more than $22 million in the bank. Meanwhile, Democrats are affiliated with fewer than 40 such PACs, with combined assets of just over $2.1 million.
The disparity surprises almost no one paying attention to how political money flows in Florida.
āItās always easier to raise money when youāre in the majority. Frequently you donāt even need to ask; people are just linking up to give you cash,ā said University of Central Florida political scientistĀ Aubrey Jewett, who wrote extensively about Florida PACs in his new textbook. āIt means that, once again, in this election cycle, the Republicans in FloridaĀ are going to badly outspend FloridaĀ Democrats in the upcoming campaign season.ā
The review found dozens of Florida candidate-associated PACs collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars each, and even millions of dollars, as money from trade associations and other interests has beenĀ more precise targets than just going into party coffers.
āItās part of the decentralization of party fundraising, whether youāre talking about Republican fundraising or Democratic fundraising, that has certainly taken place,ā said Republican operativeĀ Brecht Heuchan, āWeāve seen it cycle after cycle.ā
Democratic operativeĀ Steve SchaleĀ argued that the party decentralization is far stronger at work on the GOP side, partly because all the top office holders are Republican, and partly because of what he referred to as āthe drama of the last couple of years.”
Schale was referring to the fall-out between Scott and RPOF Chairman Blaise Ingoglia, and the rise of Scott’s Letās Get To Work PAC as a competitor with the state party for Republican money, messaging and power.
The money going to the individual PACs generally is money that is not going to the party or the Legislature caucus funds, and the greater the PACs, the lesser the influence those funds may have in the elections, Schale said. Democratic legislative leaders, heĀ contended, are working much closer with the Florida Democratic Party.
In recent years, Letās Get To Work, for which Heuchan is a senior political advisor, had been the gold standard for fund raising and independent political messaging in Florida. But after a big spending spree this winter, the PAC is relatively broke now, compared with some of the other Republican PACs.
Florida Grown PC, affiliated with Agriculture CommissionerĀ Adam Putnam, now leads the PAC pack with $3.2 million in hand at the end of January.
PACs affiliated with four Republican Senate leaders,Ā Tom LeeĀ of Brandon,Ā Jack LatvalaĀ of Clearwater, future Senate PresidentĀ Joe NegronĀ of Palm Bay and Senate Majority LeaderĀ Bill GalvanoĀ of Bradenton, each has more than $1 million.
By contrast, no PACs affiliated with Democrats had $1 million at the end of January. Their standard bearer is Leadership for Broward, affiliated withĀ Lauren Book, a candidate for the Florida Senate and daughter of powerful lobbyist and fundraiserĀ Ron Book. That PAC has $726,210. That is more than three times as much as the next biggest Democrat-affiliated PAC, supportingĀ Andrew KorgeĀ of Miami, a potential candidate who hasnāt picked a race yet, and who also is the child of a big fundraiser,Ā Chris Korge.
Republicans are affiliated with 33 PACs that have at least $100,000. Democrats are affiliated with five, and four of those, including Bookās and Korgeās are affiliated with candidates who are not in office.
In fact, the only six-figureĀ PAC affiliated with a Democratic office holder is Building A Majority PC, affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner of Tampa and Sen. Oscar Braynon of Miami, which has $101,698.
The use of independent PACs exploded in 2013 after Florida changed some of its campaign finance laws, eliminating the old committees of continuous existence, the previous funnels of choice for big money, and waiving contribution limits for PACs.
āBasically, all the big monied interests now donate money individually to the candidates,ā Jewett said.
The ten largest Republican-affiliated PACs, their sponsors, and their cash-on-hand at the end of January, are: Florida Grown PC, Putnam, $3,236,583; The Conservative, Lee, $1,996,248; Florida Leadership Committee, Latvala, $1,882,289; Treasure Coast Alliance, Negron, $1,407,845; Innovate Florida, Galvano, $1,232,516; Growing a Sustainable Future, House SpeakerĀ Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, $954,254; Jobs For Florida, state Sen.Ā Wilton Simpson, New Port Richey, $849,366; Letās Get To Work, Scott and Lt. Gov.Ā Carlos Lopez-Cantera, $737,636; Florida Roundtable, state House Speaker-designateĀ Richard Corcoran, Lutz, $635,353; and Making The Right Call For Florida, state Rep.Ā Matt Hudson,Ā Naples, $632,014.
The ten largest Democratic-affiliated PACs, their sponsors, and their cash-on-hand, are: Leadership for Broward, Book, $726,210; Friends of Andrew Korge, Korge, $227,340; Floridians for Ethics, Accountability and Responsibility,Ā Gary Farmer, $203,701; New Direction Florida,Ā Edward Elliott James III, $111,999; Building A Majority PC, Joyner and Braynon, $101,698; Florida Action Fund PC, state Sen.Ā Jeremy Ring, Margate; $82,248; Floridians for Practical Solutions, state Rep.Ā Jared Moskowitz, Coral Springs, $76,040; Common Sense for Central Florida, former state Rep.Ā Mike Clelland, $69,350; Floridians for Better Government PC, state Rep.Ā David Richardson, Miami Beach, $66,342; and Coalition for Responsible Government, former state Rep.Ā James Waldman, Coconut Creek, $54,098.
