Donna Shalala slightly outraised by GOP challenger Maria Elvira Salazar in Miami race
In an environment where many Democrats are posting record-breaking fundraising totals as Donald Trump’s poll numbers sag, Miami Rep. Donna Shalala’s money race is much closer.
Though Shalala’s campaign still has more money to spend than Republican challenger Maria Elvira Salazar, the first-term congresswoman and former Health and Human Services secretary was slightly outraised for a second consecutive fundraising quarter. Salazar, a former journalist, ran against Shalala in 2018 and lost to her by six percentage points in a district that favors Democrats.
Salazar raised $538,843 in the latest fundraising quarter, which covered the months of April, May and June, while Shalala was close behind at $530,932. Shalala maintains a cash-on-hand advantage in the race, with $1.8 million on hand to Salazar’s $1.2 million.
“The energy and momentum are on our side as our community thirsts for change,” Salazar said in a text message. “I will always fight to defend our police, help people get back to work, and keep socialism out of this country so we can enjoy the freedoms many of our families fought so hard to obtain.”
Shalala was also outraised by Salazar in the first quarter of 2020 and three of the last four fundraising quarters, though Salazar also loaned her campaign $20,000 in the latest quarter.
Shalala’s campaign said Salazar is able to raise money on a full-time basis and received a lot of donations from national Republicans.
“The reality is she has the advantage as a full-time candidate and can raise money and campaign all the time,” campaign manager Raul Martinez said. “The congresswoman’s priority right now is worrying about workers getting unemployment insurance. Floridians are dying everyday and that’s what she is focused on.”
Martinez added that many Republicans from outside Florida are donating to Salazar because they think the race will be competitive.
“They don’t know the district. They don’t know the people, and dollars don’t necessarily translate to votes,” Martinez said.
The small Republican donation advantage in Florida’s 27th congressional district, which includes Miami Beach, most of downtown Miami and Coral Gables, is in contrast to South Florida’s other prominent congressional race, where incumbent Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is outraising her likely GOP challenger in Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. Mucarsel-Powell leads in fundraising despite facing a higher profile opponent and representing a more competitive district for Republicans than Shalala.
Shalala is still favored to win reelection, though, in a district that Trump lost by more than 19 percentage points in 2016. Shalala’s seat is rated as “likely Democratic” by the Cook Political Report. Salazar must first win the August 18 Republican primary, where she faces two challengers who are not raising money.
Outside groups backing Democrats have already reserved millions of dollars in TV ad time for the weeks before Election Day in the Miami media market, money that can benefit Mucarsel-Powell or Shalala. Outside groups backing House Republicans haven’t yet made any reservations.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 1:45 PM.