Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ bid for governor has brought in about $330,000 since launching his campaign in early November, according to his first campaign finance filings.
But Demings’ total falls well short of former U.S. Rep. David Jolly, expected to be the mayor’s chief rival to be the Democratic nominee, and far behind the leading Republican candidate, U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds.
Jolly’s campaign announced in an email earlier this month that they brought in more than $1.1 million in the same period, and $3 million since launching his campaign last April, though official records of his fundraising weren’t posted by the Division of Elections Monday.
The Demings campaign, in a statement, acknowledged many candidates in the field and said he remains “excited about the momentum we’ve achieved.”
“However, we had only seven weeks and not 12 like many of the other candidates and we were starting up during the holiday season. Despite those challenges, we raised a respectable $330,000. I look forward to expanding our fundraising and support during the first quarter of the year and thereafter.”
The total includes $225,000 between Halloween and New Year’s Eve, a period during which the state required candidates to report contributions as of Monday. Demings also has a political committee called Moving Florida Forward to which donors can give larger sums of cash. That PAC has raised $104,000 so far.
Susan MacManus, a professor emerita at the University of South Florida, said Demings’ total lagged behind expectations. But he still has strong name recognition in Orange County, one of the strongholds for Florida Democrats.
“He’s got to make a big splash from a PR perspective and from a fundraising perspective no later than a month from now,” she said. “There is a sense of urgency now that the next report has to show significant improvement.”
Demings entered the race in early November, days after a poll by the University of North Florida showed him trailing leading Republicans but polling competitively with Jolly, the presumed headlining Democrat.
Jolly was a former anti-Trump Republican member of Congress who left the party to become an independent. Last year, he became a Democrat and joined the race for governor.
His campaign said its fourth-quarter total was its best of the campaign so far. The first two reporting periods had brought in $550,000 and $587,000, respectively.
On the Republican side, Trump-endorsed congressman Donalds has raised more than $40 million toward the contest and consistently has led the GOP field in polls. Lt. Gov. Jay Collins also announced his candidacy Monday, joining Donalds and former state House Speaker Paul Renner as the most prominent candidates.