HD 58 candidate Lawrence McClure says he’s already raised $90,000 for his campaign to take over for Republican Rep. Dan Raulerson, who is stepping down from his seat next week due to health problems.
McClure, a Plant City Republican, filed for the seat on the first of the month and said he already has enough petition signatures to qualify for the special election ballot. He also said his campaign was “very proud” of their fundraising effort one week into the race.
“In our first week we’ve raised over $90,000, which will help us spread our positive, conservative message to every corner of District 58,” he said in a campaign email. “With just over 60 days left before the Primary we are working hard to meet with each and every Republican voter and share with them our conservative principles.”
The Hillsborough County native works with local companies on environmental mitigation, oil spill cleanup and petroleum tank removal. He has been a member of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau for the past two years and is currently serving as the bureau’s Building Committee chairman.
McClure will face Yvonne Fry in the Republican primary for the seat, which covers northwestern Hillsborough County from the borders of Pasco and Polk counties includes Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa and Plant City.
The special primary election will be held Oct. 10, with the special general election to follow on Dec. 19.
Fry, who filed at the tail end of July, has also announced she will qualify via petitions signatures, though she hasn’t touted any August fundraising numbers. Her first report, which covered the last four days of July, showed $7,250 in contributions, nearly all of which she had on hand at the end of the month.
Also running are Democrat Jose Vazquez and Libertarian Bryan Zemina, neither of whom have reported any campaign contributions. The qualifying deadline for the race is Aug. 16 at noon.
HD 58 has about 3,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, though is has been firmly in Republican control since districts were redrawn in 2012. Vazquez is the only Democrat to make the general election ballot since then, and he lost handily to Raulerson in both 2012 and 2016.
