JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The race to be the next mayor of Jacksonville is the most expensive in the city’s history with Republican Daniel Davis and Democrat Donna Deegan amassing nearly $11 million between the two of them.
It’s millions of dollars raised and spent aiming to secure a position that pays just $230,000 a year.
There’s a big fundraising gap between the two candidates.
Between candidate accounts and political action committees Davis has outraised and outspent Deegan roughly three to one.
Republican Daniel Davis has raised a total of $8.47 million compared to Democratic candidate Donna Deegan who raised $2.32 million.
Recent fundraising has also gone in Davis’ favor.
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Just in the past few weeks, Davis has pulled in $1.9 million compared to the $872 K raised by Deegan.
Chair of the local Democratic Party Daniel Henry said he’s not discouraged by the fundraising deficit.
“Ultimately, I think you can’t buy votes. Davis has spent a considerable amount of money being negative for the past four months. He was that way with LeAnna Cumber in the first round. He’s definitely kind of turned his ammunition towards Donna in the second round, but I think voters are tired of that,” said Henry.
But State Representative Dean Black, who heads the Duval GOP, argued money is only part of the Republican strategy.
“We’re talking to the voters, we’re talking to the people and the truth is, time is money. So many people have given their time to help our candidates get our message of strong public safety and prosperity for Jacksonville out in all corners of this county,” said Black.
The 2015 mayor’s race saw more than $9 million collected between Lenny Curry and Alvin Brown.
Fast-forward eight years and Davis and Deegan have smashed that record by nearly $2 million.
“I think to spend eight and a half million dollars like this is obscene,” said Deegan.
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Deegan said she’s confident she’ll still be able to pull out a victory despite the fundraising deficit, even with much of that extra cash being leveraged to promote negative ads aimed at her campaign.
“I think people are ready for more positivity, more empathy a government that really sees everybody in the city,” said Deegan.
Davis said he’s hopeful his cash advantage will help him reach more voters.
“The money is great. You have to have it, but that’s not where the win is,” said Davis.
He’s banking on his campaign’s ground game to deliver a victory Tuesday night.
“If you want safer more affordable streets and somebody who is well prepared to hit the ground running day 1 and be your next CEO of the City of Jacksonville, then I should be the choice,” said Davis.
The latest poll on the race released Monday showed Deegan up by 1.7 points, but 6.1 percent of voters polled said they either hadn’t made up their mind or refused to answer.
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