TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Democratic Party has started 2005 with its worst fund-raising quarter in recent history, raising about $270,000 in the first three months of this year, compared with nearly $3 million by the Republican Party of Florida.
FDP chairman Scott Maddox was unavailable for comment Wednesday because of a family emergency. Party spokesman Allie Merzer said the downturn was expected after a campaign season in which the party raised millions.
"There's always a lull in fund raising because all the sources are tapped out," Merzer said. "The fund-raising goal for those first few months (after an election) is to raise enough to keep the lights on and the doors open as you start to gear up for the next cycle of elections."
This is the least amount of money raised by the party in any quarter since at least 1996, as far back as the state's online records go.
In similar reporting periods -- the first quarter following an election year -- the previous low came in 1997 when the party raised about $473,000. The previous low in any quarter since 1996 was $352,000 in the second quarter of 2003, shortly after Maddox took over the party.
Maddox is leaving in May, after revealing in March his well-known plan to run for statewide office next year. The former mayor of Tallahassee has yet to say if he will run for governor, attorney general or chief financial officer.
The party's power is at an all-time low in Florida. Democrats hold none of the four statewide elected seats and one of the two U.S. Senate seats that are elected statewide -- Sen. Bill Nelson's. And Republicans control the state House and Senate by a 2-to-1 margin. [The only locally-elected Dem in my part of Florida is the Tax Collector!]
Some have criticized Maddox's dual role as party leader and unannounced candidate, saying it hurt the party's ability to raise money from supporters of the two declared Democratic gubernatorial candidates -- state Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, and U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa. |