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Candidates' local race for cash too close to call

If the presidential race was decided by Tampa Bay area business support, ladies and gentleman: We have a close one!

By Robert Trigaux,Times Business Editor
Published November 4, 2007

If the presidential race was decided by Tampa Bay area business support, ladies and gentleman: We have a close one!

Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are successfully mining this metro area's business base of campaign contributors better than their competitors, be they Republican or Democrat.

Consider: In Tampa, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner gave $2,300 the maximum per person per election to ex-New York Mayor Rudy.

Also giving to Rudy from this area: Horizon Bay Senior Communities' Thilo Best of Tampa ($4,600, for primary and general election); Brandon Construction's David Brandon of Ozona ($4.600); Morin Development Group's Kenneth Morin of Tampa ($2,300); JES Properties' Doug Weiland of Clearwater ($2,300) and National Gold Exchange's Mark Yaffe of Tampa ($2,300) to name a few.

Neck and neck in the Tampa Bay area is Mitt with contributions from some big local names and some former Bush backers, including: OSI Restaurant Partners' Bill Allen and Chris Sullivan of Tampa ($2,100 and $2,300); JMC Communities' Michael Cheezem of St. Petersburg ($1,000); Raymond James Financial's Tom James of Largo ($2,300); Kane's Furniture's Irwin Novack of Largo ($2,300); and - take note - the Sembler Co.'s Mel Sembler (the former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee) of St. Petersburg ($2,300).

But neither Rudy nor Mitt is Florida's big-dollar winner. Through September, Rudy has raised $2.6-million and Mitt has $2-million, according to the Federal Election Commission.

That's well behind Hillary Clinton's $4.8-million in contributions from the Sunshine State.

The key difference between the Republican and Democratic candidates? While Rudy and Mitt are scoring big in the Central Florida business world, especially here in Tampa Bay, Hillary's power base for campaign money, including business leaders, lies in South Florida.

Hillary picked up a just few local business contributions from the likes of Carter Insurance Group's Calvin Carter of Tampa ($2,500).

Don't underestimate Barack Obama. He's tallied $2-million in Florida - just as much as Mitt. Contributors here range from BlueCross BlueShield of Florida's Sidney Morgan of Lutz ($2,300), Automotive Investments' Frank Morsani of Lutz ($2,300) and Rooms To Go's Jeff Seaman of Seffner ($4,600).

John McCain's take from this area isn't too far behind.

It's going to be a great race.

Want more detailed information on this topic? See Florida Trend magazine's November issue or at www.floridatrend.com, or research for yourself at the Federal Election Commission at www.fec.gov. Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8405.

[Last modified November 2, 2007, 21:36:08]