Campaign money

Florida allocates more public matching funds to candidates.

Nearly $450,000 was spread to seven statewide candidates in the second round of public matching funds, raising the total for the 2018 elections to $3.9 million, according to Florida Division of Elections numbers.

In a sign of an increase in small individual donations, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis received $183,006 on Friday, the most that any candidate received last week from the matching-funds program.

DeSantis, a Northeast Florida congressman who been endorsed by President Donald Trump, has now received $826,232 through the controversial program, which has divided state lawmakers. Critics in recent years have sought to eliminate the program, which matches individual contributions of $250 or less.

No public money is dispensed until candidates for Cabinet positions reach $100,000 in such relatively small-dollar contributions received in a period that began last September. For gubernatorial candidates, the threshold is $150,000.

Statewide candidates drew $4.34 million from the program in 2014 and $6.1 million in 2010.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, who is going up against DeSantis in the Aug. 28 Republican primary for governor, received $81,170 last week, bringing his matchingfunds total to just over $1 million.

Gwen Graham, a former congresswoman who is among the Democrats running for governor, picked up $103,970 on Friday from the matching-funds program, bringing her overall haul from the program to nearly $1.1 million.

In the attorney general race, former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody received $29,600 on Friday, bringing her total matching funds to $313,348.

Democratic state Rep. Sean Shaw of Tampa picked up $19,832 on Friday. Shaw has now received $158,825.

Republican Frank White, a state lawmaker from Pensacola who has heavily self-funded his campaign, hasn’t applied and is using Moody’s par- ticipation in the matchingfunds program as an issue between the two in the primary.

Democrat Ryan Torrens, a Hillsborough County attorney running against Shaw in the primary, awaits confirmation that he has qualified.

“When we get our public financing, we’ll be able to expand our message quite a bit more with that money,” Torrens said Saturday. “We should have that shortly.”

In the race to replace Putnam as agriculture commissioner, Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, got $11,141 on Friday and has now received $236,837 in matching funds.

Grimsley is the only candidate for agriculture commissioner receiving matching funds.

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who doesn’t have a primary opponent and will face Democrat Jeremy Ring, a former state senator from Broward County in the November general election, received $20,402 on Friday. Patronis has now received $289,070.

Ring isn’t in the state funding program.