GOP's fundraising far ahead of Democrats'

The Republican Party of Florida raised four times as much money as state Democrats in the past three months, ensuring Republican Gov. Jeb Bush plenty of cash for the fall election.

The state GOP raised $7.5-million for state races, plus about $2-million for federal campaigns, according to the campaign finance reports covering April 1 to June 30. It spent $5.6-million. It did not disclose how much money it has on hand.

The Florida Democratic Party, meanwhile, raised $1.7-million and spent $1.9-million. It still has about $1-million in its bank account.

The Republican bounty falls short of the first-quarter fundraising, which topped $10-million. But it puts the party halfway to its goal of $40-million for the November elections.

"It's right in line with what our targets are," said Republican Party spokesman Towson Frasier.

The latest reports were more bad news for Democrats, suggesting the party might be ill-equipped to challenge Bush effectively in November. Neither the party nor its two leading candidates, Janet Reno and Bill McBride, have raised enough money to launch a major television ad campaign, a key tool for reaching voters in a state as sprawling as Florida.

But Ryan Banfil, a spokesman for the Democratic Party, said his team was happy with the the second quarter numbers.

"We're ahead of where we were in '98," when Bush trounced Democrat Buddy MacKay, Banfil said. "We're right on track . . . "

It's easier for the political parties to raise money because individual contributions are unlimited, while those to candidates are capped at $500. The parties can help cover campaign costs for candidates.

The Democrats' leading gubernatorial candidates also reported lackluster fundraising activity this week: In the second quarter of this year, McBride raised $535,000 and has about $1.2-million on hand; Reno raised $369,000 and has $220,000 on hand. State Sen. Daryl Jones said he raised $55,000.

During the same period, Bush raised almost $1.3-million and has almost $5-million on hand.

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