Harry Cohen banks $144K in Q1 for re-election, but he might wind up unopposed

Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen, a Democrat, isn’t unopposed, but he might as well be if campaign finance and residency have anything to do with it.

Cohen faces John Scott Butherus II, a candidate registered with the Ecology Party of Florida. But Cohen has nearly $450,000 available between his campaign and affiliated political committee, Hillsborough Together. Butherus, meanwhile, has raised just $100 and he gave it to himself.

What’s more, Butherus does not live in District 1; rather, his Ruskin address is located within District 4, which is not on the ballot this year.

With qualifying for the race not until June, Butherus could refile for either District 5 or 7, both of which are at-large seats elected countywide. There, he would face either Donna Cameron Cepeda or Josh Wostal. Cepeda already faces opposition from Democrat Neil Manimala, while Wostal is opposed by Democrat Aileen Rodriguez. Manimala has already raised nearly $144,000 for his race, while Rodriguez has raised nearly $28,000.

Conversely, Butherus could still run for District 1, but would be required to reside within the district at the time of taking office, if he were to win.

Notified of the residency issues, Butherus declined to comment on the record until he was able to speak with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Another challenger could still emerge. But whether Cohen faces Butherus or someone else, he’ll have a major upper hand both in available resources and the power of incumbency.

With more than $480,000 raised so far between both of his funding sources, Cohen’s available resources would likely dwarf any challenger. He’s already established bipartisan support, with endorsements from Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, a prominent local Republican, as well as various unions that tend to support Democrats.

“I am truly humbled by the level of support my campaign has received,” Cohen said. “I am committed to the work — the day-to-day delivery of public services — and to building consensus among my colleagues in order to get things done. Effectiveness is the best campaign.”

Cohen officially kicked off his campaign in October, with a standing-room-only event at Pane Rustica including three Tampa Mayors: current Mayor Jane Castor and former Mayors Bob Buckhorn and Sandy Freedman, the latter of whom also contributed $1,000 to Cohen’s campaign in the fourth quarter.

Cohen is one of only two Democrats on the Hillsborough County Commission. He was first elected to the Commission in 2020, replacing former Commissioner Sandy Murman, a Republican. Prior to his service on the Commission, Cohen served two terms on the Tampa City Council. He ran for Tampa Mayor in 2019, finishing third before now-Mayor Jane Castor went on to defeat the late David Straz overwhelmingly in a runoff election.

Cohen survived his 2022 re-election bid — just two years after his successful election, which flipped a seat from red to blue — in a cycle that was the political version of Game of Thrones’ red wedding. He won by less than a percentage point, a razor-thin victory that looked like a landslide compared to two of Cohen’s Democratic colleagues. Former Commissioner Mariella Smith lost her seat by nearly 6 percentage points, while former Commissioner Kimberly Overman lost hers by about 5 percentage points.