TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A competitive fundraising battle is unfolding in the City of Tallahassee’s mayoral race, with three of the candidates pulling in the bulk of campaign contributions in the first quarter of the year.
Recently released campaign finance reports show that State Senator Loranne Ausley and candidate Daryl Parks have both raised more than $80,000, while Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow brought in about $38,000 thus far.
Candidate Michael Foust raised the least, just $600. However, he says he’s glad to be free of the “transactional” feel of politics.
“I’m trying to dispel with a presence, and you can’t do that with money,” he said. “And there’s no reason for us to all be screaming at each other and fighting.”
Despite Matlow trailing in total dollars, he has drawn contributions from roughly twice as many donors as his competitors, with the average donation hovering around $50 and most support coming from within Leon County, according to Dr. Lonna Atkeson, Education and Political Science & Director of the LeRoy Collins Institute.
“If you were just going off the money, then you’d say that it’s a two-person race. But I think that we can’t set aside Matlow at this point just because he doesn’t have as much money, because he’s still raising it from twice as many people,” she said.
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Matlow echoed the sentiment and said his campaign has accumulated 1,000 individual donors in Tallahassee.
“That’s what we really want to build on,” Matlow said. “Those are folks that not just donate, but they can actually vote in these elections.”
By contrast, Parks raised the most last quarter, over $84,000. But, a majority of the money came from outside of city limits. WCTV reached out to Parks for a statement, but has not heard back as of Tuesday afternoon.
Candidate Ausley followed right behind Parks, hauling in just over $80,000, with over 80% coming from inside city limits. WCTV also reached out to Ausley, but has not heard back as of Tuesday afternoon.
Former Wakulla County Commissioner Dr. Howard Kessler indicated that fundraising remains a key component in local races.
“The reality of it now is that candidates who do not raise sufficient campaign funds are not taken seriously. And that doesn’t mean that they’re lesser of a candidate and the principles that they stand for are any lesser or more,” Kessler said.
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