Alex Sink raises $1.3M for special election

Florida Democratic House candidate Alex Sink outraised Republican David Jolly in the last month and a half of the campaign, leaving her with more than five times as much cash on hand as him heading into the home stretch of the competitive race.

{mosads}From the beginning of the year through Feb. 19, Sink raised $1.3 million for her campaign, and had about $972,000 in the bank.

Jolly raised $639,000 during that same period, and had $182,000 cash on hand.

Sink has raised $2.5 million overall for her bid. The substantial fundraising lead she entered the general election with — she raised $1.1 million to Republican David Jolly’s $388,000 in the last reporting period — made her the early front-runner.

It’s not just the two candidates who have been spending and raising heavily. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, outside groups have spent more than $6 million in the race, and GOP groups have helped make up for Jolly’s fundraising disparity. 

On Thursday, the League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club became the latest Democratic groups to jump in the race with an ad hammering Jolly on environmental issues, while the Chamber of Commerce launched another ad hitting Sink on ObamaCare.

The swing district was never a slam-dunk for Sink, though it did become more competitive for Democrats with Young’s passing last year. A difficult environment for Democrats and millions in outside spending from GOP groups hammering her on ObamaCare and her time as Florida’s chief financial officer — as well as a number of errors from the candidate — have made the race a tight competition throughout.

Multiple polls, both public and private, have shown the two within low single digits of one another. A survey out this week from the Chamber of Commerce, which has backed Jolly, showed the Republican ahead by only two points.

Absentee ballots coming in have given Republicans reason to worry, however, as they show a slimmer lead for Republican ballots than the party expected — and not all of those ballots are sure locks for Jolly.

—This piece was updated at 7:19 p.m.