Democrat Deborah Tendrich is leading Republican Daniel Zapata in the money race to fill an open House seat representing central Palm Beach County.
The two are vying to represent House District 89, a seat that will come open as Democratic state Rep. David Silvers is termed out.
Zapata, who works at a private school — Atlantic Christian Academy in West Palm Beach — is making his second bid to represent HD 89. Tendrich, the founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Eat Better, Live Better, ran for the Delray Beach City Commission in 2020 and is now making her first bid for the Florida House.
So far, Tendrich is ahead in collecting donations, although she only filed to run in July. She's collected $13,186 and spent $403. That's outpacing Zapata, who has nearly $3,000 from donations that date back to March, including $1,000 he gave his campaign. For the third quarter, he collected just $319 and spent $250.
Tendrich also loaned her campaign $1,000 and reported another $1,000 as a donation. Donors giving the maximum to her campaign are Jill Brown, a West Palm Beach business owner, and Adrienne Tendrich, a Boynton Beach retiree.
Other notable donations Tendrich collected include $300 from the Hispanic Political Action Committee; $100 from Gregg Lerman, who is running for Palm Beach County State Attorney; and $50 from Tenille DeCoste, the human resources director for Boynton Beach city government running for the Delray Beach City Commission, who gave her $50.
Last election, Zapata had support from the Christian Family Coalition, a Florida-based advocate for religious liberties, and Guardians of American History, which claims on its website that it "will use all means necessary to prevent the malevolent eradication of American history and culture," The Palm Beach Post reported. Those donors have not shown up yet.
This year's race may be a test for whether Republicans can sustain the strength they showed in Palm Beach County during the last election. In 2022, Democrats saw unprecedented losses in this area, long regarded as a stronghold for the blue team. Silvers got by Zapata, who was making his first run for office, by less than 5 percentage points.
The 2022 election shows the district has become more of a toss-up. Voters here supported Val Demings over U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio by nearly 2 percentage points, yet more district voters cast their ballots for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis than Charlie Crist, according to voting data from Matt Isbell, of MCI Maps.
HD 89 takes in parts of Atlantis, Greenacres, Palm Springs and Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Worth Beach and West Palm Beach. It's roughly defined by Dixie Highway to the east, Sherwood Forest Boulevard to the west, Hypoluxo Road to its south and Southern Boulevard to the north.
The campaigns were facing a deadline to report all financial transactions for the third quarter earlier this month.
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