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In H-48, Ken Peluso, Peter Nehr pull ahead of field

in Peter/The Bay and the 'Burg by

In the crowded field to replace Gus Bilirakis in Florida House District 48, Tarpon Springs City Commissioner Peter Nehr and chiropractor Ken Peluso continue to battle each other for the top fundraising spot, while the rest of field still makes impressive gains on their own.

Peluso raised more than $18K, beating out Nehr’s 16K. Nehr still holds a significant fundraising advantage, but with thousands of chiropractor, err, physician money coming into his campaign, Peluso is emerging as the primary challenge to Nehr, who has already been endorsed by the Pinellas GOP chair.

Don’t count out Brian Flaherty, either. The charismatic newcomer raised more than 11K and is positioning himself as a clear alternative to the controversial Nehr or the beholden Peluso.

Robin Boreland, who I once thought had a great shot at this seat because of her reputation as a hard-working candidate, seems to be struggling to position her campaign. She brought in less than $5K, a respectable amount, but probably not enough to compete with this strong of a field. She’s also a protege of that idiot Neil Brickfield, whose janitorial services are far more extensive than his political consulting.

As for Democrat Carl Zimmermann, he is still in there plugging away, the lone Democrat in this field. He picked up just over $2K.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.

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