Former Republican state Rep. Joe Negron of Stuart out-raised Democratic rival Bill Ramos by more than a 12-to-1 margin in their special state Senate race, final pre-election reports show.

Through Thursday, Negron raised $499,685 and spent $418,413 for Tuesday’s District 28 election to replace retiring Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie. Negron spent $173,977 on a TV ad campaign, at least $60,890 on direct mail and $4,334 on phone calls, according to his report.

Ramos raised $40,046 and spent $28,089 through Thursday. He could not afford TV ads and spent $1,464 on campaign postcards and $3,835 on signs.

Write-in candidate Josue Larose reported raising $70,000 of his own money and $10,000 in contributions. Larose’s report says he spent $80,000 on advertising, public relations and flyers.

Larose has also filed as a 2010 candidate for governor. And last week, while still an active write-in candidate for the Senate seat, Larose filed as a write-in candidate for the special state House District 84 election in Palm Beach County, but withdrew a few hours later.

Tags: Bill Ramos, Joe Negron, Josue Larose, special elections

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