News Service Florida Political Blog

Ryan Moffitt is running as the Pirate Party candidate in House District 91, which would put him up against Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, who while not a pirate, is still one of the most colorful members of the Legislature.

While Moffitt is running in a fringe party, his candidacy seems serious and thoughtful based on his campaign website – http://www.ryanmoffitt.org/.

Moffitt, who was raised in Texas, says he’s a populist, and “liberty-focused,” and says the two party system is broken. “I will dedicate my time in office to stopping the two party oligarchy and creating the populist, modern government you deserve,” Moffitt says on his site. He’s generally libertarian, opposed to restrictions on guns, opposed to GPS tracking devices put on cars or people by the government, and has a section on his site about expanding the Sunshine laws and increasing government transparency. He also is calling for more casino projects to boost tourism. “I will make it a point to close the state budget deficit without cutting the budget of our already strained public schools,” Moffitt says. He is the founder of the Florida Pirate Party, and has just finished serving as its chairman. 

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Yesterday we reported on the top fundraisers in the House, including surprise newcomer Halsey Beshears, a Republican in Monticello running for House District 7.

Here’s a bit more – the top 10, if you will:

The quarter’s top fund-raiser  Beshears, who collected $108,268 as he tries to win the redrawn House District 7, which includes all or parts of 10 North Florida counties.

He was followed by two Republicans seeking House seats from Northeast Florida. District 24 candidate Travis Hutson, who lives in St. Johns County, raised $70,675, while District 18 candidate Travis Cummings of Orange Park raised $66,226.

Other Republican candidates in the top 10 were Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers, with $65,377; incumbent Rep. Scott Plakon, with $53,511; and Dane Eagle of Cape Coral, with $50,570.

Among Democrats, the top fund-raisers were District 49 candidate Joe Saunders of Orlando, with $55,731, and District 21 candidate Aaron Bosshardt of Gainesville, with $54,845.

Other Democrats in the top 10 were Jonah Wolfson of Miami Beach, with $49,625, and David Kerner of Lake Worth, with $46,020.

With the exception of Plakon and Eagle, none of the quarter’s top fund-raisers had reported receiving earlier contributions. That leaves them far behind many incumbents, who raised money throughout 2011.

The top overall House fund-raiser is incoming Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who collected $24,650 during the quarter and brought his total to $421,800.

Two other Republicans in line to become future speakers, Chris Dorworth of Lake Mary and Richard Corcoran of New Port Richey, also are among the top House fund-raisers. Dorworth has raised a total of $250,995, while Corcoran has raised $201,062.

It’s not totally clear exactly what House district she’s running for, but Jacksonville/St. Augustine area Republican Kim Kendall raised $13,675 during the second quarter the T-U’s Matt Dixon reports tonight on Politijax.

The post is here