Earle Ford hits $500K raised in quest to challenge Anna Paulina Luna

Earle Ford, a Democratic candidate for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, announced has raised more than $500,000.

Ford said the haul represents “an extraordinary outpouring of grassroots support,” with donations from more than 16,000 unique donors totaling more than 21,000 individual contributions.

Ford further said 500 of the donors have signed up for recurring contributions.

He also announced support from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

“From day one, this campaign has been about people, not politics,” Ford said. “To see more than 16,000 individuals step up and invest in this campaign is incredibly humbling. It tells me that people across this district are ready for leadership that listens, shows up, and fights to do the right thing for them every single day.”

Ford’s fundraising news comes about a month after he announced crossing the $400,000 mark. At that time, Ford said internal polling put him within 3 percentage points of incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, whom Ford hopes to challenge in the General Election this November.

Ford’s campaign did not provide additional details on its internal polling.

Ford says his campaign is focusing on grassroots organizing and community engagement, and is emphasizing small-dollar contributions. Ford says he is not relying on funds from political committees or special interests.

“This isn’t a campaign powered by a handful of insiders. It’s powered by thousands of people who live in Florida 13 and believe we can do better,” Ford said. “We’re building something real here, and we’re just getting started.”

His campaign platform centers on serving Pinellas County families through access to affordable health care, better hurricane preparedness and response, higher wages, increased labor rights and holding the wealthiest Americans accountable.

“Our campaign is about making life more affordable by demanding accountability,” Ford added. “That means taking on the systems that have let powerful interests off the hook for too long and delivering real results for the people who need it most.”

Ford is one of several candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to take on Luna, including the most recent entrant into the race, retired Army Brigadier General Leela Gray.

Like Gray, Ford is also a U.S. Army veteran. He served as an infantryman, where he trained soldiers to execute missions safely. He also worked for the IRS auditing taxpayers, including billionaires, his campaign says, which showed him “how a rigged system protects the ultrawealthy while leaving working families behind.”

All of the Democratic candidates have an uphill battle in the race. The district is heavily conservative, with just 29% of the electorate registered as Democrats, compared to nearly 40% who are Republicans, according to the most recent L2 voter data.

And the incumbent, Luna, had raised nearly $1.7 million as of Dec. 31, and retains more than $1 million of that.