Vern Buchanan raises $900,000 for congressional race in second quarter
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan raised $900,000 for his congressional campaign in the second quarter and is heading into the heart of campaign season with $2 million in cash on hand.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, has been far outpacing his GOP primary opponent, Sarasota businessman Martin Hyde, in fundraising.
Hyde has yet to report his second quarter fundraising, but had collected $200,000 through the first quarter and spent nearly all of it. Hyde largely has been self-funding his campaign, but didn't put any of his own money into the race in the first quarter.
Martin Hyde pays qualifying fee, will remain in congressional race against Buchanan
Video shows Sarasota candidate threatening police officer's career during traffic stop
Vern Buchanan votes against gun bill despite past support for stronger gun restrictions
Hyde was pulled over for a traffic stop in February and police body camera footage showed him berating the officer and threatening her career. He apologized for the incident and has resumed his campaign, but said in a text message he doesn't plan to spend much money.
"I'll spend a little more over the next few months but no point in going nuts as it's a grain of sand compared to his resources," Hyde said. "We're about to find out if there's no such thing as bad publicity. Truth is I have to play the hand I have and no amount of cash would change that."
Meanwhile, Buchanan has raised $3.7 million total and has more than half left to spend.
A seven-term congressman first elected in 2006, Buchanan has begun airing digital ads that highlight his upbringing near Detroit.
Buchanan and Hyde, both Sarasota County residents, are running in a newly redrawn District 16 that covers all of Manatee County and a portion of Hillsborough County. The primary is Aug. 23.
Subscribers: Redistricting map has big impact on seats covering Sarasota, Manatee
Follow Herald-Tribune Political Editor Zac Anderson on Twitter at @zacjanderson. He can be reached at zac.anderson@heraldtribune.com
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida congressional candidate Vern Buchanan has big fundraising haul
