Gabbard previously told Florida Politics<\/a> she wasn\u2019t raising funds through her committee, and was instead focusing on her campaign account. As recently as this week, she took to social media to lament big money in politics.<\/p>\n \u201cI would never be supported by the institutional donors and gatekeepers who believe they dictate who gets the privilege of holding elected office. I was okay with that, because I believe in our people to see through all the political pandering and nonsense that big money can help flood our mailboxes and airwaves with,\u201d Gabbard wrote Wednesday on her campaign Facebook page.<\/p>\n On its face, the $10,000 contribution smacks of hypocrisy. But drilling deeper, it may smell more like desperation.<\/p>\n As of July 17 \u2014 the most recent date for which campaign reports are available \u2014 Gabbard\u2019s campaign account<\/a> had raised just $47,000. She had less than $14,000 left on hand at that time. With the $10,000 contribution and previous contributions to the committee, Gabbard had less than $15,000 available in her committee as of July 24.<\/p>\n That\u2019s less than $30,000 to spend in a Mayor\u2019s race where the incumbent has hit six figures and his top challenger has raised well into seven figures.<\/p>\n To be clear, this is not a critique of political committees, nor is it a critique of Gabbard accepting a large donation from a convoluted source (more on that in a second). Rather, this is a reminder of what happens when you bring someone up from the minors too soon.<\/p>\n When Gabbard entered the race, she did so with the sort of idealistic, utopian idea of politicking that doesn\u2019t exist at this level. Good for her. Wouldn\u2019t it be wonderful to live in a world where politics were decided by the grassroots, where mountains of cash weren\u2019t so often the determining factor in who rises and who falls?<\/p>\n I\u2019m not here to litigate whether money in politics is good or bad; that\u2019s its own conversation and worthy of its own space. It has also been litigated to at least some degree in every election cycle since Citizens United.<\/p>\n What I am here to share is political reality. Running for St. Petersburg Mayor is not a five-figure task. Mayoral races in St. Pete have been at, or just narrowly missing, the million-dollar mark for well over a decade. There\u2019s no reason for this to have taken Gabbard by surprise.<\/p>\n So to some extent, it\u2019s good to see her catching up to reality and cashing a big check.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing \u2014 two things, actually. One, it\u2019s too little, too late. Two, her comments lamenting money in politics came AFTER she had already cashed that big check. And, sidebar, there was also a $2,500 donation on July 7 from Backstreets Capital, a local developer.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s where hypocrisy surpasses political realism.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s evaluate what she wrote just one day ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI would never be supported by institutional donors and gatekeepers.\u201d<\/p>\n You wouldn\u2019t? Um, I think you are.<\/p>\n The $10,000 came directly from a political committee, but such committees \u2014 as anyone who works in or adjacent to politics knows \u2014 are often used as pass-throughs for donors who might not want their fingerprints directly on the contribution. In this case, the funds appear to have come from Shumaker<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Hurricane-Season-FL-Politics-and-Programmatic-728x90-2.png\")
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