Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers in the Florida State Senate, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the State Senate submitted to the Florida Department of State. It includes activity between Jan. 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022.
Top fundraisers in the Florida State Senate by party
The top fundraisers in Florida State Senate elections are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they are on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Lauren Book (District 35) – $267,162
- Loranne Ausley (District 3) – $239,467
- Janelle Perez (District 38) – $141,233
- Annette Taddeo – $138,659
- Reggie Gaffney (District 5) – $128,785
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Wilton Simpson – $3,520,010
- Bryan Avila (District 39) – $319,559
- Ed Hooper (District 21) – $267,033
- Jay Trumbull (District 2) – $250,455
- Jason Brodeur (District 10) – $236,961
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $1.7 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $6.4 million. Combined, all State Senate fundraisers in the Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022, filing period raised $8.0 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 55 percent of all Democratic State Senate fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 72 percent of all Republican State Senate fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.
| TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – FLORIDA STATE SENATE (Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
| Wilton Simpson | Republican Party | $3,520,010 | $176,267 |
| Bryan Avila | Republican Party | $319,559 | $76,991 |
| Lauren Book | Democratic Party | $267,162 | $208,811 |
| Ed Hooper | Republican Party | $267,033 | $266,932 |
| Jay Trumbull | Republican Party | $250,455 | $11,718 |
| Loranne Ausley | Democratic Party | $239,467 | $55,609 |
| Jason Brodeur | Republican Party | $236,961 | $97,289 |
| Erin Grall | Republican Party | $231,463 | $64,468 |
| Colleen Burton | Republican Party | $221,825 | $90,782 |
| Ileana Garcia | Republican Party | $182,239 | $22,315 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Florida Department of State. Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Report Due Date |
| 2022 Q4 Data (2021 M12) | 1/10/2022 |
| 2022 M3 | 4/11/2022 |
| 2022 Primary 2 | 7/8/2022 |
| 2022 Primary 5 | 8/5/2022 |
| 2022 General 1 | 9/2/2022 |
| 2022 General 3 | 9/30/2022 |
This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.