The general election is still seven months away, but already, Republican U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is ramping up his fundraising and launching an early television advertising blitz.
Buchanan’s campaign said Tuesday that the Longboat Key rep has more than $2.5 million in cash on hand and already is using it to try to boost his image.
The six-term incumbent launched his first TV ad of the election cycle yesterday. The $128,000 ad buy is a 60-second ad that highlights Buchanan’s biography.
Democrat David Shapiro, a Siesta Key attorney, joined the race in mid October and raised more than Buchanan in the fourth quarter of 2017, collecting $250,000 during the first 10 weeks of his campaign.