Conservatives in the GOP were outraged, and the stimulus embrace became fuel for former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio’s Republican primary bid for U.S. Senate against Crist. Rubio is marking the anniversary with a rally in Fort Myers tonight, an online fund-raising blitz , and the Web video above.
Less noticed that day in Fort Myers was a woman named Mary Rakovich who organized a small stimulus protest. The term “tea party” wouldn’t be attached to such demonstrations until MSNBC’s Rick Santelli’s famed rant nine days later. But Rakovich, trained by the Washington-based conservative group FreedomWorks, is credited with perhaps the first tea party protest.
Klein got 54.7 percent to defeat West in 2008. Klein spent about $2.3 million on that race while West spent less than $550,000.
Klein’s District 22 covers parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties. It was represented by Republican Clay Shaw for 26 years but has grown more Democratic and voted 52 percent for Barack Obama in 2008.
National Democrats are touting Chris Craft’s challenge of freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney of Tequesta as an “emerging” race this year.
But Craft has yet to emerge as a money-raising rival to the incumbent.
New Federal Election Commission reports show Rooney raised $288,060 during the fourth quarter of 2009 and began 2010 with $460,304 in cash on hand for his reelection bid. Craft, a St. Lucie County commissioner, raised $41,700 during the quarter and has $64,854 on hand.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this month listed the Rooney-Craft race in Florida’s congressional District 16 as one of 26 “races to watch” for open or GOP-held seats. The list includes 17 “top races” and nine “emerging races.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee is upgrading Republican candidate Allen West from one of about 50 “on the radar” candidates to one of its top 15 contenders for 2010.
West is making a second try to unseat well-financed U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 22. West, who got little national help and raised only $583,897 for his 2008 campaign against Klein, has turned heads this year by announcing he raised more than $670,000 during the fourth quarter of 2009.
“Having had such a monster fourth quarter is certainly a major factor” in the national GOP’s heightened interest in West, NRCC spokesman Andy Sere said.
With his fund-raising surge, West says he has about $700,000 cash on hand. Klein, who hasn’t announced his latest totals yet, had about $2.2 million in the bank on Sept. 30. Federal Election Commission reports are due Sunday.
Gov. Charlie Crist’s Senate campaign announced today it began 2010 with more than $7.5 million in cash on hand while the campaign of his GOP primary rival, former Florida House speaker Marco Rubio, says it has about $2 million in the bank.
But not all that money can be spent before the primary. Contributors can give up to $2,400 for a primary and $2,400 for a general election. So some of the money a candidate collects from big givers can’t be used until after the primary.
Neither campaign offered precise figures today. A Crist spokeswoman says “the majority” of Crist’s $7.5 million is available for the primary. A Rubio spokesman says “practically all” of Rubio’s money is for the primary.
Republican congressional challenger Allen West’s campaign says it raised an impressive $670,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009 for West’s bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein. This video, posted in October and viewed more than 1.8 million times, helped West raise more in those three months than he did for his entire 2008 campaign.
The latest Federal Election Commission reports show a financial mismatch in the special election campaign for Robert Wexler’s old congressional District 19 seat.
Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch has piled up nearly $1 million in campaign contributions for the race and spent $684,578 while his rival in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary, Ben Graber, says he has raised and spent around $100,000.
In the GOP primary, contractor Ed Lynch reports that he has raised $59,277, including $19,500 of his own money, and spent $50,175. But Lynch’s report says he has $84,455 in cash on hand because of money carried over from his losing 2008 campaign.
Republican candidate Joe Budd raised $23,142, including $10,000 of his own money. A third GOP candidate, Curt Price, raised $2,411 from contributors and kicked in $53,500 of his own money.
A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns right up until the day of the election and upsetting more than 60 years of restrictions will radicalize elections, critics of the opinion say.
“It’s going to be the Wild Wild West,” said Ben Ginsberg, a Republican attorney who has represented several GOP presidential campaigns. “If corporations and unions can give unlimited amounts … it means that the public debate is significantly changed with a lot more voices, and it means that the loudest voices are going to be corporations and unions.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that corporations and unions can spend as much as they want on “electioneering communications,” the negative ads targeting candidates.
The ruling could have a sweeping effect on Florida campaigns, especially in battleground races like the U.S. Senate GOP primary between Gov. Charlie Crist and former House Speaker Marco Rubio.
The suit was filed by a group behind Hillary Clinton-bashing ads in her U.S. Senate campaign.
The court decided in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission that banning corporations and unions from paying for the ads equates to a chilling effect on free speech.
“There is no basis for the proposition that, in the political speech context, the government may impose restrictions on certain disfavored speakers. Both history and logic lead to this conclusion,” the ruling reads. “Political speech is so ingrained in this country’s culture that speakers find ways around campaign finance laws. Rapid changes in technology—and the creative dynamic inherent in the concept of free expression—counsel against upholding a law that restricts political speech in certain media or by certain speakers.”
Common Cause said the ruling “creates political crisis” by paving the way for corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of cash on elections.
“The Roberts court today made a bad situation worse,” Common Cause President Bob Edgar said in a press release. “This decision allows Wall Street to tap its vast corporate profits to drown out the voice of the public in our democracy. “The path from here is clear: Congress must free itself from Wall Street’s grip so Main Street can finally get a fair shake.We need to change the way America pays for elections. Passing the Fair Elections Now Act would give us the best Congress money can’t buy.”
Will Massachusetts Republican superstar Scott Brown help South Florida Democratic congressional hopeful Ted Deutch raise money?
State Sen. Deutch of Boca Raton, heavily favored in a special election to replace Democrat Robert Wexler in Congress, says Brown’s victory in Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate special election proves he can’t take anything for granted, even in an overwhelmingly Democratic congressional district.
In a fund-raising e-mail titled “Wake Up Call,” Deutch notes that Massachusetts has “a similar electorate to my congressional district” and “based on the results out of Massachusetts, I must work to introduce myself and my commitment to the community to an even wider spectrum of voters. To achieve this result, I must again ask for your help….”
Read Deutch’s entire fund-raising e-mail after the jump….
Democratic congressional candidate Ted Deutch’s campaign says former President Bill Clinton’s appearance at this afternoon’s fund-raiser at St. Andrew’s Country Club in Boca Raton raised $175,000 and pushed Deutch’s overall campaign total above $1 million.
Deutch, a Boca Raton state Senator, and former Broward Mayor Ben Graber are running in a Feb. 2 Dem primary for the seat of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, who stepped down this month to head a Middle East think tank. Three Republicans and a no-party candidate are also running. The general election is April 13.
Clinton will speak tonight in Palm Beach at a Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County dinner at The Breakers.
Democratic congressional hopeful Ted Deutch expects to raise more than $100,000 today when former President Bill Clinton drops by St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton for a late-afternoon fund-raiser. The event is closed to the press.
Deutch’s campaign says he has already raised more than $800,000 for his special election bid to replace former Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler. Deutch and Ben Graber are competing in a Feb. 2 Democratic primary. The winner runs in an April 13 general election.
Clinton tonight is scheduled to speak at The Breakers to major Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County donors.
Wismick St. Jean, who’s running for a Wellington village council seat, had scheduled a campaign fund-raiser for tonight at the Player’s Club. Instead, he’s turning it into an event to collect donations for earthquake-devastated Haiti.
“Haiti is not equipped to handle an earthquake of this magnitude 7.0 on its own. The Haitian people need your prayer and your financial assistance at this time in history,” St. Jean said in a press release.
Democrat Lori Berman, who out-raised Hager in 2009, dropped out of the District 87 race last week and switched to more Democrat-friendly District 86. District 86 is where Rep. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, plans to leave to run for state Senate as part of a massive shuffle being guided by the former Robert Wexler political machine.
Sachs is banking on state Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, winning a Feb. 2 primary and April 13 special election to replace Wexler, who retired this month to head a Middle East think tank. Deutch, Sachs and Berman have all been endorsed by Wexler and helped by his former consultant, Eric Johnson.
With Berman leaving the District 87 race, insurance agency owner Len Turesky, a Democrat, is considering running against Hager. Turesky plans to meet with Johnson and others to discuss the race.
State Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, finally cranked up his fund-raising operation for his GOP Senate primary against state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, during the final quarter of 2009. But Bogdanoff still outraised Domino 2-to-1 during the quarter and has a $336,626-to-$48,965 lead in overall contributions.
Domino has also put $110,000 of his own money into the primary to succeed Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach. Atwater is running for chief financial officer.
In another closely watched GOP Senate primary, Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto raised $33,810 during the fourth quarter while Republican rival Sharon Merchant raised $14,449. Benacquisto has an overall money edge of $150,040 to $72,099.
Benacquisto and Merchant are running for the seat of attorney general candidate Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres. Democratic Senate hopefuls Peter Burkert and Kevin Rader hadn’t turned in their fourth-quarter reports late this afternoon.
Former President Bill Clinton will appear at a fund-raiser for Democratic state Sen. Ted Deutch’s congressional campaign on Jan. 19 in Boca Raton, Deutch’s campaign said.
The late-afternoon event will be at St. Andrew’s Country Club. Clinton is scheduled to speak that evening in Palm Beach at a dinner for major Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County donors at The Breakers.
Deutch was a prominent supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2008 Democratic presidential bid. He and former Broward County mayor Ben Graber are running in a special Feb. 2 primary for the seat of former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, who resigned to head a Middle East think tank. Three Republicans are also running. The general election is April 13.
Gov. Charlie Crist’s U.S. Senate campaign will give $9,600 it received from Fort Lauderdale attorney and accused multimillion-dollar investment scammer Scott Rothstein and his wife to charity or some other entity, Crist campaign manager Eric Eikenberg said this afternoon.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney’s campaign will give $4,600 in Rothstein contributions to a pair of Treasure Coast charities. And the Republican Party of Florida is pledging to give about $150,000 in Rothstein-linked money to a victim-compensation fund when one is set up.
The Florida Democratic Party announced it is returning a $200,000 check from Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm to the firm in hopes it “helps the victims of any wrong doing recover what they have lost.”
“I’m as surprised as anyone else. I still don’t have much information,” Stone said Monday.
Stone and Rothstein formed a consulting biz called RRA Consulting that operated out of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law offices. Though it’s still listed in state records as an active business, Stone said the partnership dissolved a few months ago. Stone, who lives in Miami, said he still rents office space from the law firm and visits about once a month.
Rothstein
Rothstein has been a major Republican money-raiser, bundling big bucks for John McCain’s presidential bid and Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign and contributing about $500,000 to the state GOP either personally or through the law firm.
So it was considered a major coup for Democratic governor hopeful Alex Sink to win Rothstein’s backing this year. Rothstein hosted an Aug. 27 fund-raiser for Sink and had the law firm write a $200,000 check to the Florida Democratic Party in September.
Said Stone: “This would have to be a considerable blow to Alex Sink and the Florida Democrats. He was a major get for the Democrats…Their trophy Republican seems to be on the lam.”
With Broward County lawyer and political mega-moneyman Scott Rothstein facing accusations of misappropriating large sums of money from investor trust accounts, the beneficiaries of his past largesse are facing pressure to give the money back.
The Florida Democratic Party, which got a $200,000 check from Rothstein’s law firm in September, says it is “monitoring” the accusations against Rothstein and will return the money if it turns out to be tainted. The Republican Party of Florida, which has received about $500,000 from Rothstein and his law firm since 2002, also says it is “monitoring” the case.
And Gov. Charlie Crist, whose 2010 U.S. Senate campaign got $4,800 apiece from Rothstein and his wife? You guessed it: “monitoring” the allegations.
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Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
Sentenced to die for crimes judged heinous and cruel, inmates await execution in a 9 feet by 6 feet cell.
