Mayfield tops SD 17 money chase in April

BY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, received $32,090 in contributions last month, slightly outpacing her spending, and outraised her two Republican opponents in a battle for a state Senate seat on the Space Coast. Mayfield is running against Rep. Ritch Workman of Melbourne and Michael Thomas, a Brevard County state committeeman, for the party nomination in the GOP-leaning District 17. The open seat --- Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, cannot seek re-election due to term limits --- covers Indian River County and most of Brevard County. Mayfield drew most of her contributions in April from residents of Vero Beach. She also spent $30,139 during the month, with nearly half the money going to West Palm Beach-based Acclaim Communications for direct-mail services. Thanks to a $200,000 loan to her campaign in December, Mayfield had $196,617 in the bank to start May. Outside the loan, Mayfield had raised $48,355 and spent $51,738. Workman reported bringing in $9,700 in April. More than half of Workman's money came from Tallahassee-based political committees. The contributions slightly outpaced the $9,056 he spent during the month, mostly on campaign advertising materials that included signs and shirts. Workman entered May with $95,335 on hand. Thomas posted $3,941 in contributions in April. He spent $2,759 during the month. Thomas, who has now raised $11,591 and loaned his campaign $1,600, started May with $3,613 in his campaign account. An updated finance report for Democratic candidate Christopher Duncan had not been posted to the state Division of Elections website Tuesday afternoon.