Early voting starts Monday; here’s who funded the candidates' campaigns

With early voting starting Monday, candidates are scrambling to make last-minute pitches and collect donations that will give them the edge over their opponents.

For Alachua County, a congressional seat and three in each the Florida Legislature, Gainesville City Commission and County Commission are up for grabs.

Candidates can still collect funds through Nov. 3.

Here’s who some of the top and most prominent donors in each race:

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Florida Senate, District 9

State Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, outraised Democratic challenger Rodney Long by more than $200,000.

Perry, as of Friday, raised more than $280,000. Perry has accepted donations from dozens of political committees, energy companies Next Era and Duke Energy,  and a host of notable public figures that include State Attorney Brian Kramer, County Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn, Alachua County Republic Party chairman Ed Braddy, Developer Nathan Collier, Bosshardt Realty owner Aaron Bosshardt and former county commissioner Lee Pinkoson and Susan Baird.

Some business donors include Public, Dosal Tobacco Corporation and Exxon Mobile.

The contributor list for Long, a former county and city commissioner, is a stark difference, made up mostly of individuals and some businesses. He has not accepted donations from political committees.

Records show he has raised $51,000. Some of his donors include Gainesville commissioners Harvey Ward and Cynthia Chestnut, School Board members Tina Certain and Leanetta McNealy, state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, UF law professor Kenneth Nunn and Alachua County Democrat Party chairman James Maggio.

Florida House, District 20

State Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson of District 20 has outraised her Republican challenger, Hollye Merton, by more than $60,000.

Records show Hinson has raised more than $71,000 to Merton's near $8,300.

Hinson, a Democratic incumbent from Gainesville, has received donations from Publix, Dosal Tobacco and Next Era Energy.

A host of local area officials have also donated to her campaign, some of whom include Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, city commissioners Adrian Hayes-Santos, Cynthia Chestnut and Harvey Ward, former mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, former Gainesville city commissioners Rodney Long, Susan Bottcher and Gail Johnson and Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry.

Merton as received donations from County Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn, Darris Friend and local Republican Party treasurer Ann Stone. She loaned herself about $3,000.

Florida House, District 22

Republican incumbent Chuck Clemons is facing Democratic challenger Brandon Peters.

Financial data shows Clemons has nearly doubled his opponent's campaign contributions, pulling in more than $347,000 to Peters' 178,000.

Clemons has received tens of thousands of dollars from dozens of political committees, some of which are operated by his campaign treasurer Stafford Jones. Some of the big-name businesses who have donated to his re-election include Disney, Target, Exxon Mobile, NBC Universal Media and Next Era Energy and Walgreens.

Some of the notable individuals who are listed as donors include Gainesville attorney Seldon Childers, State Attorney Brian Kramer, Developer Nathan Collier and local Republican Party chair Ed Braddy.

Peters' list includes Gainesville City Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut, School Board-elect Sara Rockwell, state Senate candidate Rodney Long, developers Ken and Linda McGurn, former Gainesville commissioner Susan Bottcher and local Democratic Party chairman James Maggio.

Gainesville mayor

Gainesville mayoral candidates Ed Bielarski and Harvey Ward have both raised more than $55,000. Ward, however, holds the edge, up more than $4,000 as of Friday.

Ward, the city's District 2 commissioner, raised $63,400 so far, with donations from local NAACP President Evelyn Foxx, county commissioners Ken Cornell, Marihelen Wheeler and Anna Prizzia and county spokesman Mark Sexton. His list also includes former city commissioners Susan Bottcher, Warren Nielsen, Gigi Simmons, current Commissioner Reina Saco and past and present school board members Eileen Roy and Rob Hyatt

Bielarski, the former Gainesville Regional Utilities manager, raised nearly $58,300 in contributions.

Some of his top individual donations include developer Nathan Collier, Gainesville attorney Seldon Childers, former city commissioner Harvey Budd, School Board-elect Kay Abbitt, Oelrich Construction president Ivan Oelrich, former Utility Advisory Board member David Denslow.

City Commission, District 2

Gainesville City Commission candidate Ed Book has outraised his opponent James Ingle in the District 2 race by about $13,000.

Campaign data shows Book, a longtime law enforcement officer, has brought in $61,000, some of which has come from unions for first responders. Former State Attorney Bill Cervone, former City Manager Anthony Lyons and former county commissioner Lee Pinkoson, attorney Sheldon Childers and former Sheriff Sadie Darnell have all donated to Book.

Ingle's $48,600 in campaign funds is made up in part by donations from union workers, some of which include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) PAC, North Central FLA Central Labor Council PAC, IBEW PAC VOLUNTARY FUND. He also has donations from City Commissioner Harvey Ward, current and former county commissioners Mary Alford, Ken Cornell and Anna Prizzia.

School Board member-elect Sarah Rockwell; labor organizer Jeremiah Tattersall; and county spokesman Mark Sexton have also contributed to his campaign.

City Commission, District 3

District 3 candidate Dejeon Cain has the raised the most money in his runoff race with $19,400, though more than $12,000 came in the form of a loan to himself.

Cain has seen donations from City Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut, the Alachua County Democratic Party, County Commissioner Ken Cornell and about $1,000 from ActBlue.

His opponent, Casey Willits has brought in $14,100. His donors include city commissioners Adrian Hayes-Santos, David Arreola, former commissioners Susan Bottcher and Warren Neilsen, congressional candidate Danielle Hawk and School Board member Tina Certain.

County Commission, District 1

Alachua County Commission candidate Mary Alford has outraised current Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn by just almost $4,000.

Alford, a Democrat and former commissioner who resigned in May over a residency issue, has quickly brought in nearly $16,000.

Some of the top and notable donors are the Alachua County Stonewall PAC and North Central Florida Labor Coalition PAC. Donations have also come in from County Commissioner Mariehelen Wheeler, City Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos, state House candidate Brandon Peters and former Gainesville commissioners Helen Warren and Susan Bottcher.

Eagle-Glenn, picked by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the vacancy that Alford left, has raised $12,000, with $5,000 coming in the form of a loan to her campaign. The Gainesville attorney's most notable donors include $2,500 from PACs run by Republican strategists.

County Commission, District 2

The campaign funding race between County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler and challenger Ed Braddy is the closest race in terms of donations.

Wheeler, a Democrat, has brought in $22,190 to Braddy's $21,715.

Wheeler's donation list includes School Board member Leanetta McNealy, School Board-elect Sarah Rockwell, Gainesville commission candidate Casey Willits, state House candidate Brandon Peters and former longtime county commissioner Robert Hutchinson.

Braddy, the former Gainesville mayor and leader of the local Republican Party, has seen money from former county commissioner Susan Baird, state Sen. Keith Perry's Building a Prosperous Florida PAC and a GOP strategist Stafford Jones PAC, Florida Shines.

County Commission, District 4

County Commissioner Ken Cornell has handily outraised his opponents, Van Elmore and Anthony Johnson, by nearly $70,000.

Cornell, a Democratic who currently lives in District 4, has brought in more than $78,000 with the most extensive list of more than 550 donations among all local races. Cornell has not accepted donations from PACs or businesses and limited contributions to $250 per cycle.

His donors include Gainesville attorney Rod Smith, business owner Deborah Butler, former schools superintendent Carlee Simon, developer Ken McGurn, Bosshardt Realty owner Aaron Bosshardt, former Gainesville commissioners Harvey Budd and Gigi Simmons, state House candidate Brandon Peters and former county commissioner Robert Hutchinson.

Elmore, a Republican candidate and a retired lieutenant with Alachua County Fire Rescue, has logged almost $7,500. Johnson, who is running as a no-party affiliation, raised nearly $5,700. He loaned himself $4,800.

Circuit Court judge

Sean Brewer raised more than $253,000 while AuBroncee Martin raised about $53,700 in the race for 8th Judicial Circuit Court judge. But $215,000 of Brewer's money comes in the form of a loan.

Aside from his own funds, Brewer, an assistant state attorney, has brought in just shy of $35,000, records show. Former state attorney Bill Cervone, State Attorney Brian Kramer, Gainesville attorney Seldon Childers, Alachua County Deputy Sheriff Laurence Freedman and the Florida Police Benevolent Association are on his donation list.

Likewise, Martin, an attorney for the public defender's office, has much of his funds made up by loans. About $29,000 came from other sources. Among his list of donors are public defender Stacy Scott, state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, developer Ken McGurn, School Board member Leaneta McNealy and School Board-elect Sarah Rockwell.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Campaign donors for Gainesville, Alachua County, congressional races