Money proves crucial for winners of two Florida House races in Polk County

Money made a difference for Tuesday’s winners of two Republican primaries for Florida House seats in Polk County — but in different ways.

In District 49, Jennifer Kincart Jonsson collected far more in campaign funds than any of her three opponents, with some of it coming from corporate donors and political committees based outside Polk County.

The winner in District 48, Jon Albert, had less campaign money than two of his rivals, but he benefited from the efforts of an outside political action committee, whose backers are not subject to the contribution limits faced by donors to candidates’ campaigns.

Jonsson, a Lakeland resident making her first run for office, received 50.7% of the vote, finishing well ahead of Shawn McDonough (23.1%), Heather McArthur (14.9%) and Randy Wilkinson (11.4%).

The winner reported nearly $286,000 in campaign contributions, compared with about $191,000 for McDonough, whose total included a $75,000 loan from himself. McArthur reported nearly $81,000 in campaign funds and Wilkinson about $37,000.

Jonsson gained that financial edge despite entering the race nine months after McArthur and seven months after McDonough.

Jonsson emphasized that individuals and companies in Polk County provided the bulk of her campaign funds. An analysis of her financial reports to the Florida Division of Elections shows that nearly 80% of the donations came from individuals or from businesses in Polk County.

The vice president of A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure Inc., a family business based in Bartow, Jonsson attributed her decisive win to persistent, grassroots campaigning.

“I have the most incredible campaign team,” Jonsson said. “We were super focused. I and my campaign team were willing to do what we needed, work as hard as I possibly could to get it done. I think we knocked over 20,000 doors. I was knocking every day. So it was just hard work. I was focused on reaching as many people as I possibly could, face to face. I think we knocked some houses three times.”

Raising money quickly

Jonsson, 46, filed to run on April 11, and she reported nearly $90,000 in contributions by the end of April. For the first month of her campaign, almost all the donations came from individuals and Polk County companies.

Jonsson, a married mother of three, soon began attracting contributions from political committees and corporate PACs, some of them based in other states. Nearly 100 of her contributions came from such groups.

On April 24, Jonsson reported a contribution of $1,000 from Friends of Colleen Burton. A Republican state senator from Lakeland, Burton is one of the most accomplished fundraisers in the Florida Legislature, and many of her committee’s donations come from out-of-state corporate groups.

The same day, Jonsson reported a $1,000 donation from A Stronger Florida, a PAC based in Tallahassee. The committee is largely funded by corporate PACs, such as the HCA hospital chain and Charter Communications, and gives mostly to conservative groups and candidates.

Among the companies and corporate PACs making $1,000 donations to Jonsson were U.S. Sugar Corp., Mosaic, Florida Beer Wholesalers and three separate divisions of HCA. Her campaign received money from at least seven corporate entities based in other states, among them the Home Depot (Washington, D.C.); Merck, Sharp and Dohme (New Jersey); Chevron (California); and Comcast (Pennsylvania).

“I believe it is very typical on a campaign, when someone sees the campaign has the momentum, that they want to support that campaign,” Jonsson said. “So I was not out seeking that support. If you look at any campaign that has momentum, there are people who want to support the winning candidate, and they believed I was the winning candidate.”

Jonsson’s campaign also received money from at least seven political committees, among them Florida Born and Raised, the Faith Family Freedom Coalition and Florida First Patriots. The latter PAC received $20,000 last year from Friends of Jennifer Canady, the political committee of a Republican House member from Lakeland.

Jonsson said that some donations resulted from interviews all the candidates did with political groups seeking to determine whom they would support, such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Jonsson reported a $1,000 contribution from Building A Brighter Future for Florida, a PAC based in Jensen Beach. The committee chair listed in state records is Thomas Piccolo, a partner in Strategic Image Management, a Tampa consulting company also known as SIMwins. Piccolo is the husband of state Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City.

Consultant's prominent role

Both Jonsson and Albert employed the services of SIMwins, an outfit founded by consultant Anthony Pedicini. Jonsson paid the firm about $239,000 between May and August, according to state records. That total includes a payment of $100,000 for mailers on Aug. 14. Other expenses to SIMwins are identified as media ads, road and yard signs, palm cards and text messaging services.

Jonsson said she used SIMwins to coordinate advertising rather than deal directly with vendors.

Jonsson’s campaign also reported a payment on Aug. 15 to Capital Resources in Tallahassee for fundraising consulting. The company’s founder, Tony Cortese, is listed as chair of Florida First Patriots and the Florida Conservative Federation, which gave a combined $2,000 to Jonsson’s campaign.

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SIMwins backed several Republican candidates statewide running for open seats in the Legislature, as well as candidates in county elections. Pedicini is considered one of the most influential political consultants in Florida, and his firm has received more than $35 million from candidates and political committees since 2020, the Florida Trident recently reported.

Canady, a program director at Lakeland Christian School and the wife of Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Canady, is among SIMwins’ clients. Canady’s campaign paid the company about $244,000 for services in the 2022 campaign and has so far paid the firm about $25,000 in this election cycle.

Gaining outside support

Voters in District 49 received numerous mailers and text messages promoting Jonsson’s campaign, said Wilkinson, a former Polk County commissioner and School Board member.

Some of the cards bore disclaimers saying that Jonsson’s campaign paid for them. One that Wilkinson shared with The Ledger was marked as paid for by Americans for Prosperity Action, a committee based in Virginia and affiliated with the Koch brothers.

The mailers emphasized national political issues. The one sent by AFP declared, “Jennifer Kincart Jonsson will fight back against massive inflation caused by Bidenomics.”

One mailer paid for by the candidate pledged to send help to secure the Southern border and “support President Trump’s border wall.” Another featured a photo of Trump with the phrase “Build the wall. Secure the Border.”

The Florida Legislature has no authority over immigration issues or funding for an expansion of a barrier on the border with Mexico.

Jonsson said she was not involved with the AFP mailer.

“I knew Americans for Prosperity was supporting me, but I did not review or approve or do anything,” she said. “I got them in my mailbox, just like everyone else.”

That support prompted mailers criticizing Jonsson. One labeled AFP a “liberal group” that opposed Trump and supports open border policies and declared that Jonsson could “not be trusted on President Trump or the Wall.”

The back of the mailer included a photo of McArthur and a blurb promoting her candidacy. A label identified the mailer as paid for by the Conservative Leadership Fund, a PAC based in Tallahassee.

Wilkinson said that he raised concerns early in the race about the influence of outside money in Florida House elections.

“Corporate dark money with the blessing of House leadership seeking to fill an echo chamber was clearly decisive,” Wilkinson said in a text message. “Consultant driven campaigns drive votes to anointed candidates with Pavlovian poll tested talking points in onslaughts of mass mailers. They breed cynicism, depressing overall vote totals as just experienced August 20. It is anti to democratic process and a threat to our representative form of government.”

The seat in District 49 is open because Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, decided to run for Polk County Supervisor of Elections rather than seek a fourth term. The district covers most of southwest Polk, extending north to the Combee area. Jonsson will face Ashley Herrmann, the lone Democrat to qualify, in the November general election.

Jonsson said she has put the primary race behind her as she looks ahead to Nov. 5.

“I'm very proud of the campaign we ran,” she said. “Back to why I think I was able to win the support and the trust of the district is because I did run a positive campaign, and I ran based on my strengths, not the other candidates’ weaknesses.”

PAC mailers boost Albert

In the District 48 race, Albert, the mayor of Frostproof, easily overcame his five Republican opponents. Albert captured 35% of the vote, finishing well ahead of Jerry Carter at 24.6%.

The field also included Chad Davis (19.2%), Amilee Stuckey (9.8%), Debbie Owens (8.9%) and Benny Valentin (2.5%).

Albert did not dominate the field in campaign funding, as Jonsson did in her race. Carter had the largest campaign fund at $75,250, which included $42,000 in loans from himself. Albert reported $61,435 in contributions, slightly less than Davis at $64,440. Albert’s total included a $50,000 loan to his own campaign made Aug. 13.

The District 48 seat is open because Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, faced term limits. The district encompasses southeast Polk County and Winter Haven, stretching north almost to Haines City.

Voters in the district received multiple mailers supporting Albert’s candidacy. As with Jonsson, the mailers focused largely on national issues, including the southern border. One promised that Albert would sue the Biden Administration over its border policies, and another featured an unflattering photo of Biden.

The mailers also introduced Albert as a Marine veteran, a small-town mayor and a patriot.

Labels marked some mailers as paid for by Make America Great Again, a political-action committee based in Venice. Randy Krise, who is listed in state records as the PAC’s chair, told The Ledger that Pedicini created the committee.

The MAGA committee has received $2.1 million in contributions since 2018, according to Florida Division of Elections records. The money comes mostly from other conservative political committees, including Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy (chaired by Pedicini), Save Our Quality of Life and the Freedom First Committee.

State records indicate that Albert’s campaign paid $52,205 to SIMwins, making a first payment on March 30. The payments included $18,750 on Aug. 8 for mailers and $31,250 on July 15 for voter communications.

A political committee, Friends of Jonathan Albert formed in March but has not yet reported any contributions or expenditures.

Three of Albert’s rivals — Carter, Davis and Valentin — signed a petition accusing him of improper campaigning and asking the State Attorney’s Office for the 10 ^th Judicial Circuit to investigate. The candidates said Albert did not have enough money in his campaign account to cover the cost of mailers labeled as paid for by his campaign.

Albert told The Ledger before the election his loan of $50,000 to his campaign covered the costs of the mailers.

A consultant to Davis’ campaign, Mark Zubaly, filed complaints about Albert with the Florida Elections Commission and with the Office of Election Crimes and Security.

“With such a crowded field, the race was vulnerable to outside influences,” said Davis, a former assistant to longtime Florida Sen. Kelli Stargel of Lakeland. “While I could not compete with the seemingly limitless spending, I am proud of the efforts and message of my campaign. I wish Jon Albert well and hope the best interests of District 48 do not get overlooked in the midst of the power politics of the Florida House.”

Albert did not respond to a voice mail left Wednesday. He will face Democrat John Hill in November’s general election.

'Low-information' primary races

The participation rate for Tuesday’s election in Polk County was only 17.2%, according to the Supervisor of Elections Office. That is even lower than the 23.5% rate in the 2022 primary election.

The two local races for open seats are examples of elections in which advertising, including mailers, can sway many voters, said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.

“In a multi-person, open-seat primary, advertising is key, because if you have a bunch of candidates who are not very well known, the candidate who can get their positive name recognition up the most has an advantage over those other opponents,” Jewett said.

He noted that campaign fundraising and spending in Florida “proceed on two different tracks.” While donors can give a maximum of $1,000 to a candidates’ campaign account, political parties and committees can raise and spend unlimited amounts.

“And so, frequently, it's these outside groups that are raising the most and spending the most and have the most influence on getting the candidate’s name recognition up or in attacking opponents — sometimes it's a combination of both,” Jewett said.

Even in a time of sophisticated online advertising, old-fashioned mailers can still have a significant impact, he said.

“State legislative primaries tend to be low-information affairs,” Jewett said. “Most voters don't know a lot about the candidates. And thus, if you're a PAC and you have a lot of money to spend, you can really promote your favorite candidate, and you can really savage the opponents that you don't like, and the average voter doesn't know much more than they're getting,”

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13 .

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Money proves crucial for winners of two Florida House races in Polk County