Ashley Moody, the Plant City native running to succeed Pam Bondi as Florida’s attorney general, has had a “whirlwind” first month in the race, she said.
Moody held the first event of her campaign, a “hometown rally,” on Tuesday, at the home of her brother, attorney Jamey Moody. According to campaign advisor Art Wood, the event raised more than $116,000.
Wood said strategizing for the event began after Moody, a Republican, filed to run for office on June 1, but it wasn’t until the last few weeks that the campaign really started to collect funds. Wood, who helped organize the event, said the initial goal was to match the amount of money State Rep. Jay Fant (R-Jacksonville), the only other Republican to file for attorney general, raised in May, the first month of his campaign.
“In politics,” Wood said, “people judge a campaign by how much you can raise in your first month.”
According to campaign finance records, Fant raised a total of $79,575 in the first month of his campaign. Moody’s $116,000, Wood said, came solely from Plant City-based support. With another campaign event scheduled Thursday, Moody is expected to far exceed Fant’s first month of fundraising.
“It means the world to me to know, where I grew up, people support me and have my best interest at heart,” Moody said. “I know whatever happens in this campaign, they will still support me and I am honored that they want to be a part of it.”