Jimmy Patronis stopped raising money early for now-abandoned Senate campaign

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Though state Rep. Jimmy Patronis created a splash last week when he announced he would not run for the Senate in 2016, a newly filed campaign-finance report shows he stopped raising money in early June.

The Panama City Republican raised only $2,800 during the second quarter of the year, after raising $90,585 during the first three months. Also, the new report indicates Patronis did not raise any money after June 4.

Patronis announced last week he would not run in 2016 for the Senate District 1 seat, short-circuiting what had been expected to be a heated GOP primary against Rep. Matt Gaetz of Fort Walton Beach. Patronis, who will leave the House in 2014 because of term limits, cited family reasons for his decision.

Gaetz’s second-quarter contribution totals had not been posted to the state Division of Elections website Monday afternoon. Gaetz hopes to succeed his father, Senate President Don Gaetz in the Panhandle district.

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.