SD 38 candidates stack up very different war chests heading into Summer

Democratic entrepreneur Richard Lamondin led the Senate District 38 field in fundraising during the April 1 to May 31 period, raking in more than $300,000 — 70% more than incumbent Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud.

But that haul, touted by Lamondin’s campaign earlier this month, included $100,000 in self-loans and a $30,000 transfer from his closed federal campaign account.

That means in terms of new dollars entering their campaigns, Calatayud took in more, though very little of it came from people rather than corporations or political committees.

No-party candidate Jeffrey Solomon, who ran for the Florida House four times, most recently in 2018, raised a comparatively meager $9,000, including $2,000 in self-loans.

Calatayud collected nearly $176,000 last period between her campaign account and political committee, Vision & Integrity for Florida. She also received more than $15,000 worth of in-kind aid from the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee for consulting and research.

Altogether, she took in 101 contributions, of which 20 came through personal checks. The biggest of which came from lobbyist Ron Book, who gave $1,000 directly and $3,500 through his eponymous firm. Book’s wife, Pat, chipped in another $1,000.

Calatayud’s largest single gain came from the PC of St. Augustine Republican Sen. Tom Leek, a $25,000 check.

The real estate industry gave big, including $20,000 from five companies under the umbrella of Miami Beach-based Redwood RE Management, $5,000 from Los Angeles-based Post Real Estate Group and $3,000 from Associated Builders and Contractors.

From Healthcare, Calatayud got $5,000 apiece from Doral-based Centene Corp. and California-headquartered senior care company WelbeHealth, $2,500 from The Doctors Company Florida PAC, and $2,000 each from the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists and Dermatology PAC of Florida.

Other donors included Florida Power & Light parent NextEra Energy, which kicked in $10,000; and Slide Insurance Holdings, which gave $7,500.

Calatayud spent nearly $89,000 last period, the bulk of which went toward consulting and voter outreach. The largest share — roughly $29,700 — went to Coral Gables-based Miranda Advocacy LLC for voter contact.

Close behind was $25,968 paid to Tallahassee consulting firm Taylor Strategies, LLC across both accounts for fundraising consulting.

Campaign management fees to Miami-based KSFL, LLC totaled $16,000, while Carroll and Company, CPAs collected roughly $3,364 for accounting services.

She entered June with $1.33 million left in her coffers.

Lamondin took an entirely different fundraising tack, taking 227 outside contributions through his campaign account and political committee, Happy Warrior PAC, of which just two came from political or corporate contributors.

They included the Coral Gables-based Haggard Law Firm and The Florida Project, a PC run by Florida Alliance Executive Director Tessa Bay that has been exclusively funded this year by the Florida Democratic Party.

Lamondin also reported $37,000 worth of in-kind aid from the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee for research, consulting and staff costs.

Notable donations to Lamondin last period included $6,000 Palm Beach geriatrician Rohin Dandiya, father to Democrat Pia Dandiya, who is running for Florida’s 22nd Congressional District; $3,500 from her sister, Sonia Dandiya; $250 from former South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard; $200 from Alberto Imbarguen, former publisher of the Miami Herald and the immediate past President of the Knight Foundation; and $50 from Chris Hudtwalcker, Chief of Staff to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Lamondin spent $17,662. The largest share covered processing fees charged by fundraising platforms ActBlue and Anedot, which together collected roughly $7,350 across both accounts. Event costs were the next biggest line item at around $2,884, including venue and entertainment expenses for a Key Biscayne fundraiser at Salt Waterfront Restaurant.

Digital advertising accounted for roughly $2,755, split between Washington-based Resonance Campaigns and Delray Beach’s MDW Communications, while Tallahassee law firm Messer Caparello collected $1,680 for legal and administrative expenses.

He had close to $283,000 by the end of last month.

Solomon took 19 contributions last quarter, of which all but one — a $200 check from a Plantation medical billing services company — came from people. Several were from fellow chiropractors and medical professionals.

He also spent just over $2,800, with his biggest expense being $1,360 paid to Campaign Manager Gabrielle Bogert, followed by $750 to the AFL-CIO for advertising.

The remainder covered venue rentals at Gibson Bethel Center and Fruit & Spice Park, a website subscription, business cards and domain registration.

He had $6,400 left by June 1.

SD 38 covers several coastal Miami-Dade municipalities, including Cutler Bay, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, parts of Homestead and Coral Gables, and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Goulds, Kendall, Perrine, Redland, Sunset and Westchester.

Calatayud won the district by 8 percentage points in 2022.

Senate Victory, the chamber’s Democratic campaign arm, has designated SD 38 as its top target seat.

Candidates faced a June 10 deadline to report all campaign finance activity through May 31.