Graham reports April best fundraising month so far, sees big increase in new grassroot donors

by | May 9, 2018


Gwen Graham, the fourth and final of the major Democratic candidates to file their April financial papers, reports her campaign and political committee raised just over $1 million last month. It’s the biggest fundraising month of her campaign.

In addition to the money, Graham claims she gained over a 1,000 new donors last month, increasing the number of grassroots supporters of her campaign to 18,500. Graham says that number is far more than any of the other campaigns for governor.

“This campaign is fueled by Floridians and grassroots supporters who are passionate about sharing Gwen’s positive message and dreams for Florida. Democrats are tired of dirty campaigns and outside secret-money groups interfering in elections,” Campaign Manager Julia Woodward said. “Gwen is a progressive, a mother and a public servant with a proven track record of standing up for our values and getting things done. As a candidate, she will unite Democrats across our state. As governor, she will bring Floridians together and move Florida forward.”

The Graham campaign points out that while their candidate has been backed by a large number of individual contributors, other Democratic candidates for governor have been backed by big donors from out of state, or from money transferred from their own personal wealth.

Her opponents, Philip Levine and Chris King reported raising $2 million and $500,000 last month, respectively. But a large chunk of those amounts came from both candidates’ personal accounts. Meanwhile, Andrew Gillum reported raising $470,000 in April with more than half of that coming from Democratic mega-donor George Soros.

But, Gillum’s campaign was quick to fire back with a note regarding one of Graham’s contributions — $100,000 from James Finch, a Panama City developer. Finch’s contributions to Graham now total $225.000.

The Graham campaign says the large number of grassroots supporters is “a clear indication of Graham’s growing momentum in the Democratic primary.”

Last month’s numbers show Graham raised more than $330,000 for her campaign account and over $670,000 for her political committee. She has raised almost $7.5 million to date and has more than $4.7 million cash on hand. ​

A new poll released Tuesday by Florida Atlantic University shows Graham and Levine in a virtual toss-up for the Democratic nomination. Levine leads Graham by 16 percent to 15 percent. King, who made the biggest move from recent polls, came in third with 10 percent. Until now, King had sat in fourth place with single digit percentages. Gillum finished fourth with 6 percent. More than 40 percent of the voters surveyed remain undecided.

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