Likely legislative candidate raising money in Washington

Javier Manjarres, who is exploring a candidacy for Congress against U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, is raising money in the nation’s capital.

And he has the help of a conservative freshman, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, from Florida’s Panhandle.

Gaetz is the draw for tonight’s event in Washington. A member of Congress helps draw attention — and contributions from lobbyists, who are the biggest source of contributors to Washington, D.C., fundraisers.

Along with the prospective candidate’s picture, the invitation states simply “Javier Manjarres U.S. Congress in Florida’s 22nd District.”

Checks and credit card payments go to the America First Agenda PAC, which is nominally independent but is a fundraising vehicle that can help Manjarres who said in June that he’s considering a challenge to Deutch, a five-term Democrat who represents most of Broward and southeast Palm Beach County.

America First was formed on April 20. In a report filed with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC said it raised $20,708 through June.

Manjarres, 44, who was named top national conservative blogger by the Conservative Political Action Committee in 2011, said he would continue to operate his political website, The Shark Tank, while exploring a candidacy.

Independent analysts don’t see Deutch as vulnerable. And voter registration figures show the district is 42 percent Democratic, 29 percent Republican and 29 percent no party affiliation/independent voters. In 2016, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won Florida by 1.2 percentage points, but Democrat Hillary Clinton won the 22nd Congressional District by 16 points.

The Cook Political Report lists the district as “D+6.” That means that in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections, the district performed six points more Democratic than the nation as a whole.

Manjarres