Donna Deegan committee nears $1.5M cash on hand after $203K quarter

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan has not launched her 2027 re-election campaign, but the Duval for All political committee supporting her continues to pull in cash.

In the first three months of 2026, the committee raised just over $203,000. While that is the weakest quarter of fundraising since Q2 2025, Deegan’s committee has now raised more than $1.62 million and has spent less than $177,000.

Multiple lawyers and law firms, such as Wayne Hogan, Farah & Farah, and Driver, McAfee, Hawthorne & Diebenow all gave at least $10,000.

Real estate developers also contributed, including Chatham Apartment Associates, the Gateway Companies, and Vestcor. Each of them donated $5,000, while John Rood, a frequent Republican donor, gave the committee $10,000.

Jacksonville University President Tim Cost gave $5,000, as did the Jax Armada Soccer Club.

Political names of note who donated include Jacksonville Chief Financial Officer Anna Brosche, the insurance company of Republican City Councilman Matt Carlucci, and Affordable Housing Director Joshua Hicks. Brosche paced the group, giving $11,000.

With less than nine months to go before the qualifying deadline, no candidates of note have entered the race.

While six people have filed, none have held elected office, and the leading fundraiser has raised less than $25,000 to date.

Republicans are sending mixed messages about whether it is worthwhile to take on Deegan. But House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan said in a recent interview that mistakes from 2023 — when Deegan defeated Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis with the help of crossover Republican voters after a GOP split in the March “First Election” — won’t be repeated.

Names linked with the race, in addition to Duggan himself, include Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland and City Council members Rory Diamond and Ron Salem.

Duggan, though prohibited from fundraising for much of the quarter due to a ban on legislators doing so during Session, still managed to raise more than $90,000 to his Citizens For Building Florida’s Future committee between the start of the year and March 31, which pushed the account near $1.2 million cash on hand.

Lobbyists, including the Southern Group, Davis Bean of The Florida Group, and Jordan Elsbury of Ballard Partners, donated to the account.

Corporate contributors included PayPal, GEO Group, RAI Services, Slide Insurance and Allegiant Air.