Cleaveland vs. Cox: Campaign finances in 4th Judicial Circuit judge race

Back in 2022, a whopping 227 circuit and county judges won their seats in uncontested races across the state. This election season, 22 judges are expected to be elected unopposed across Duval, Nassau and Clay counties.

But voters in those counties do have one prominent race to decide: the 4th Judicial Circuit Court Group 34. Candidate forums have introduced the candidates , but campaign finances help explain where they’re getting their support.

The candidates in Tuesday’s primary election are Nancy Cleaveland , who co-founded Jacksonville law firm Cleaveland & Cleaveland P.L. with her husband, and Ashley Wells Cox , an attorney at The Bedell Firm, whose legal lineage includes former Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Wells.

Here’s a rundown of where their campaign money comes from, and where it’s going.

The salary for a judge in Florida’s 4th Circuit was $196,898 as of July 1, an increase of $5,735 over the previous fiscal year. Judges are elected for six-year terms and must be reelected to retain their seats.

Although the race is nonpartisan, both candidates are receiving support from conservative corners of the legal community and political action committees, according to campaign finance documents reviewed by Jacksonville Today . If the race were strictly about the dollars rolling in, Cox would be winning.

RELATED: Meet the judicial candidates in the primary election

Both candidates received support from local attorneys, paralegals and other legal professionals, but individual financial contributions reached nearly 300 this week for Cox’s campaign, versus 92 individual contributions for Cleaveland.

Cleaveland loaned her campaign a total of $180,000 as of the last reporting date Aug. 2 and had raised a little over $33,300, less the loans and in-kind contributions to her campaign.

Among the 17 $1,000 donations — the max amount an individual or entity can legally contribute to a candidate — is a contribution from the political action committee Floridians for Conservative Values, a PAC backed by Sen. Clay Yarborough, according to the group’s website.

As of the same time, Cox had loaned her campaign $200,000 but had raised nearly $150,000, less loans and in-kind contributions. Of her 100 $1,000 donations, 18 were listed as coming from political action committees. Among them were Conservative Leadership Committee, Conservatism Counts, Americans for Liberty and Prosperity and Keep Florida Great.

Overall, Cleaveland has spent more, with a little over $195,600 distributed for her race versus Cox, who has spent slightly more than $141,000.

In both campaigns, most expenses stem from consulting fees, which include marketing, advertising and signage for the race.

Cox has spent a little under $130,000 on consulting fees, hiring consultant Matt Justice’s Reliant Florida Consulting firm.

Cleaveland has cut about $190,000 of the bigger checks — anything listed over $1,000 — to a more varied list of consulting firms and marketing companies, including firms Power Consulting and Solutionology.

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