Orlando Rising

June 16, 2018

Click Here to Read Online

With less than four months to go until Election Day, Winter Springs Republican David Smith still holds a commanding lead in fundraising in the two-way race for Seminole County’s House District 28.

Smith, a Marine Corps veteran and businessman, brought in another $4,635 between June 23 and July 6 to bring his overall fundraising total to $210,910, including $85,000 in candidate loans.

The donor sheet showed three checks for the maximum allowable donation of $1,000, including one from a political committee chaired by Gulf Coast Health Care president Jamey Richardson. Spending measured in at $12,393 for the two-week stretch, including $2,328 for digital ads, $1,550 for campaign consulting and $1,105 for printing.

Smith had $140,326 in the bank on July 6.

Also vying for the seat is Casselberry Democrat Lee Mangold, who showed $758 in contributions and $729 in spending in his new campaign finance report.

The biggest contribution on his ledger was a $250 check from Robert Persons of Casselberry, followed by a pair of $100 checks from Oviedo retirees Eugene Pickler and Robert Howard. Expenses included a $350 payment to canvassing app Polis and $196 for Facebook advertising.

Mangold had $15,842 banked on July 6.

Smith and Mangold are the only two candidates vying to succeed term-limited Republican Rep. Jason Brodeur in HD 28, which covers part of northeastern Seminole County including Sanford, Winter Springs, Casselberry and Oviedo. They will go head-to-head in the Nov. 6 general election.

HD 28 has a GOP lean.

According to the most recent bookclosing report from the Florida Division of Elections, Republican voters make up nearly 40 percent of the electorate compared to a 33 percent share for Democrats, and Brodeur has not faced a Democratic opponent on Election Day in his three re-election campaigns since the seat was redrawn in 2012.

The seat is not out of reach for Democrats, however, especially if the so-called “blue wave” hits Florida. It only voted plus-4 for Donald Trump two years ago.