Paul Renner barely clears six-figures in two months of fundraising amid heavy burn rate

Former House Speaker Paul Renner is being rejected by donors, if the last two months of fundraising mean anything at all.

Between his campaign account and the “Friends of Paul Renner” political committee, Renner raised a bit more than $106,000 in April and May.

The accounts spent roughly $640,000 during the same period, including two big ones from the PAC.

“Friends” spent more than $450,000 with One on One Communications of Miami for media placement and $100,000 to the Republican Party of Florida as a contribution, offset to some degree in terms of value by in-kind donations.

Renner has nearly $3.2 million left to spend during the campaign, though he had roughly $4.5 million at the end of 2025, showing he’s spending as if he doesn’t worry much about what happens after August 18.

His cash pile, dwindling though it is, puts him far ahead of the less than $120,000 James Fishback has to spend on his grassroots campaign.

But Renner is far behind the two more traditional Republicans in the race, including the man he is battling for a life-raft endorsement that may never come from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins has more than $5.8 million in the PAC and roughly $150,000 in his campaign account, with a $5 million donation at the end of May boosting an otherwise torpid finance report.

Meanwhile, Byron Donalds dominates, having raised more than $81 million and having President Donald Trump’s political operation behind him.

Renner, polling around 5% over the last year, says he’s actually “winning” the race “with people who are paying attention.”

But donors pay the most attention of all, and they seem to be tuning the political veteran from Northeast Florida out when he needs to hear from them the most.