When Jim Norman began making the media rounds in late August to lay the groundwork for his political comeback, his advocates saying the formerly disgraced Hillsborough County commissioner would be stronger than ever going into the 2016 District 6 countywide race, predicting he had $100,000 in contributions already in the bank by the time he declared his candidacy Sept. 1.
That wasn’t exactly the case when fundraising totals for the month of September were released in October, but it wasn’t unimpressive: a total of $83,475.
Combine that with the $16,650 he raised this past month, and Norman is the $100,000 man now, having raised $100,125 in the campaign. That’s substantially more than any other candidate in the countywide seat to be vacated by a term-limited Kevin Beckner next fall. The largest contribution came from taxi cab lobbyist Louis Betz, who kicked in $1,000 last month.
Democrat Brian Willis has raised $66,502, the next highest amount.
The only other viable Republican in the District 6 race, Lightning Capital Consulting president Tim Schock, raised $8,750 in October, and has raised $34,100 overall.
