WAR CHEST RECAP: CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS ECLIPSE $1 MILLION DURING 2024 ELECTION CYCLE

Individuals, businesses and political action committees contributed more than $1 million to candidates vying for positions and seats in the Florida Keys this election season. 

Large war chests brought plenty of spending on direct mailers, and text messages to voters’ phones, among other advertisements. Ads running across television screens attacked one candidate for supervisor of elections. 

Florida Keys residents and businesses weren’t the only ones contributing to campaigns. There were also political committees from Tallahassee and Washington, D.C pumping money into candidates’ war chests. 

With the election over, candidates who didn’t spend all their campaign funds can donate to a charity of their choosing.

State representative

Newly re-elected state Rep. Jim Mooney received $138,825 in campaign contributions from individuals, political committees and businesses. Contributions to the Republican’s re-election campaign date back to December 2022, when he received $1,000 from Florida Good Wholesalers Good Government Committee out of Tallahassee. During the October 2023 to December 2023 reporting period, Mooney’s campaign brought in $33,025 — a majority of those coming from political committees. A total of $84,866 was spent on Mooney’s re-election campaign. Mooney won re-election with 63.09% from voters in the Florida Keys and south Miami-Dade County. 

Democratic challenger Michael Travis received a total of $5,895 in campaign contributions from individuals and businesses. The Monroe County Democratic Committee donated $2,000 to his campaign. Travis didn’t receive any funds from political committees and loaned himself $1,325. Travis’s campaign spent $6,118 in his attempt to unseat Mooney. 

Monroe County Supervisor of Elections

More than $160,000 was spent in one of the more heated races in the Keys. Republican Sherri Hodies secured $94,135 in campaign contributions from residents and businesses. Hodies also received $30,000 from the Republican Party of Monroe County. Hodies received $20,000 in April ahead of a primary against challenger Margaret Romero. 

The Monroe County Republican Executive Committee voted April 20 to endorse its treasurer, Hodies, for supervisor of elections in the Aug. 20 primary over fellow Republican Romero, of Key West. Members of the executive committee, as well as other Republicans Keyswide, questioned the procedure and noted it was done without the necessary 60% majority needed for the vote. REC chairwoman Rhonda Rebman Lopez has said it was voted upon by a majority of all members present, and it was subsequently approved by the Republican Party of Florida.

In September, the Monroe County REC gave Hodies another $10,000. The Dade County PBA was the only political action committee donating $1,000 to Hodies’ campaign. Overall, Hodies’ campaign spent $92,019. She won the election with 52.07% of the vote.

Democrat Ron Saunders garnered $76,538 in campaign contributions from individuals and Keys businesses and political committees. He received $2,000 from the Monroe County Democratic Committee and several $1,000 donations from the Ocean Reef Political Action Committee, Coalition for Better Care Political Committee out of Tallahassee and $1,000 from Communications Workers of America Committee on Political Education. Saunders spent $73,746 throughout his campaign. 

The race for supervisor of elections saw several attack mailers targeting Saunders. They were produced by the Conservative Family Alliance, a political committee that spent $244,109 between July 1 and Oct. 11 on a number of races, including a Republican primary for Monroe County commissioner. The group provided $11,141,78 on mailers, text messages and radio advertisements supporting incumbent Holly Raschein’s primary opponent, Melissa Ptomey.  

As for Saunders, the Conservative Family Alliance allocated $41,784 for television advertising, $8,211 on radio ads and $19,614 in direct mailers opposing him as supervisor of elections. 

Board of County Commissioners

Democrat Chris Massicotte’s campaign gathered $155,226 in contributions, while Republican incumbent Jim Scholl took in $96,060. Scholl won the election with 62.10% of the vote. 

Massicotte received $250 from Floridians For Equality Political Committee, $2,000 from the LGBQT Victory Fund Political Committee out of Washington, D.C, and $1,000 from the Monroe County Democratic Executive Committee. Massicotte spent a total of $137,844 on his campaign. 

Scholl received $30,000 from the Republican Party of Monroe County, $1,000 from the Ocean Reef PAC, $1,000 from the By The People, For the People PAC out of Doral, $1,000 from Dade County PBA PAC, and $1,000 from the Friends of Randy Fine PAC out of Jensen Beach. A total of $74,489 was spent on Scholl’s campaign. 

More than $136,000 in contributions were made to the campaigns of Raschein, Ptomey and Paul Wunderlich ahead of the August primary. Raschein received $105,250 in contributions, while Ptomey received $23,683. Wunderlich’s campaign generated $7,350. 

Raschein received $1,000 donations from the Ocean Reef PAC, Southern Group of Florida Political Committee, People for the People Political Committee, Dade County PBA Political Committee, Friends of Randy Fine, AT&T South Florida PAC and Realtors PAC out of Orlando.

Ptomey and Wunderlich received no contributions from political committees. 

Key West City Commission

In the race for District 6, newly-elected commissioner Aaron Castillo raised the most money, $101,424. His opponent, Marci Rose, raised $40,798. Castillo spent $94,630, while Rose spent $35,050. 

In the race for District 1, Monica Haskell received $45,551 in campaign contributions. She was elected to the seat during an August primary after she beat Ben Hennington, who raised $8,200 in campaign contributions. Haskell spent $34,535 while Hennington spent $8,200. 

Key West Utility Board

Timothy Root’s campaign raised the most money, $35,470, followed by Rachel Oropeza, $18,535. Oropeza, who defeated incumbent Root in the race for Seat C on the elected board that governs Keys Energy Services, spent $18,033. Root spent $31,354. 

Marathon City Council

In Marathon, a total of $70,614 in campaign contributions flowed to city council candidates. Third-place finisher Mark Senmartin ended his campaign as the top active fundraiser, with $17,200 in contributions and $11,720.08 in expenses. New councilwoman Jody “Lynny” Del Gaizo’s $15,473 in contributions were second-highest among active candidates, and she finished as the campaign’s top spender with $13,727.90. Re-elected councilman Kenny Matlock raised $11,650 and spent $9.489.20.

Fourth-place finisher Ray Wood raised $7,491.10 to go with $7,071.58 in expenses. 

Former candidate Dustin Huff’s fundraising total of $18,350 stood as the highest total of the Marathon City Council race, though he withdrew in early October citing health issues within his family. Huff told the Weekly that he plans to return unused contributions to his donors.

Islamorada Village Council

Individuals and businesses donated a total of $173,543 to the eight candidates seeking a seat on the village council during election season. 

Capt. Steve Friedman’s campaign raked in the most, $38,765, followed by the campaign for Don Horton, $35,741. Friedman, who spent $27,378, and Horton, who spent $29,160, beat their opponents Anna Richards and Tom Raffanello for  seats 2 and 4.

In total, Richards’ campaign took in $29,935 in contributions while Raffanello received $15,001. Richards spent $26,027 and Raffanello spent $11,549. 

The winner of seat 3, Deb Gillis received $31,300 for her campaign. Gillis, who spent $19,484, beat Mary Barley, who gathered $7,961 in contributions and spent $6,099.

Buddy Pinder’s campaign received $8,400 in contributions, while his opponent Van Cadenhead received $6,440. The winner of seat 1, Pinder spent $6,142. Cadenhead spent $3,342. 

Visit keyselections.org and dos.fl.gov/elections for the full list of contributors to each candidate’s campaign.