Fentrice Driskell ends Q3 with $200K-plus cash on hand advantage over Michele Rayner

House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell entered the fourth quarter of 2025 with a massive cash on hand advantage against her sole opponent so far for the Senate, fellow Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner.

Driskell ended the third quarter with nearly $239,000 on hand after raising about $160,000 in the period covering financial activity between July 1 and Sept. 31. 

Rayner, meanwhile, raised less than $29,000 in the same period, though she has raised about $100,000 since entering the race in December. She has less than $31,000 remaining between accounts. 

The two current House colleagues are running to replace term-limited Sen. Darryl Rouson in Senate District 16. 

Driskell’s funding advantage comes largely thanks to big contributions. Her political committee, Fentrice for Florida PC, received $10,000 each from lawyer Jacqueline Ambrose, Swope-Rodante Service & Support, The Haggard Law Firm, and the Focused on Florida’s Future political committee, the latter of which typically contributes to Republican candidates and conservative causes. 

SD 16 is overwhelmingly blue. Of the district’s electorate, 47% of the district’s voters are registered as Democrats, compared to just 23% for Republicans.

That indicates Driskell may be collecting cross-party support, something that could help her in an open Primary, which would occur if no Republican enters the race and no one files as a write-in to close the Primary. 

Driskell’s overall third-quarter fundraising included more than $64,000 to her Fentrice for Florida PC and more than $95,000 to her official campaign. Another PC, How We All Win, didn’t post any fundraising activity in Q3. 

She spent about $41,000 in the quarter, while Rayner dropped just shy of $24,000 between her campaign and affiliated committee, Florida Always and Forever Ours. 

Driskell entered the race with some high-profile backing, including from former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and former Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner, who held the seat before Rouson and is considered an icon in Tampa Bay politics, especially among Democrats.

Driskell will be a formidable candidate in the race. She’s Harvard-educated, with a law degree from Georgetown, and is telegenic with a strong platform as a party leader.

And she is also the first Black woman to lead the Florida House Democrats, and was the first person in more than 30 years to be elected to the position twice.

But Rayner is likely to capitalize on more progressive support, and she boasts her own impressive résumé as a civil rights lawyer. Perhaps most famously locally, Rayner represented the family of Markeis McGlockton, who was shot and killed in 2018 during a parking space dispute.

No charges were initially filed, with Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law. But Michael Drejka was eventually charged and found guilty of manslaughter in a case that was ultimately upheld by an appeals court.