Big Tobacco, Sig Sauer and more fund AG James Uthmeier’s campaign

Meanwhile, Rodriguez, a former legislator from Miami who was assistant secretary for employment and training in the Department of Labor under President Joe Biden, has now raised more than $1 million. Of that, $489,700 was available on March 31.

“The support we’re seeing across the state makes clear Floridians are ready for accountability, to take on corruption, and to lower costs for families,” Rodriguez said in a release.

Rodriguez’ quarterly totals include $137,163 raised through his personal campaign account and $198,900 through the political committee Floridians for JJR.

The largest contributions to Floridians for JJR were $50,000 from the Miami Beach-based political committee The Florida Project, which has backed other Democratic candidates over the past year, and $75,000 from Jacksonville personal injury attorney Steve Pajcic.

Another Democrat in the contest, Jim Lewis, a former state prosecutor from Fort Lauderdale, raised $1,600 during the quarter and loaded his campaign $3,000. Lewis earlier put $2,000 of his own money into the campaign.

Lewis received 381,575 votes in the 2022 Democratic primary for the Cabinet office, 26.9 percent of the vote, finishing third in a three-way contest.

The political committee Friends of James Uthmeier raised $1.62 million in the quarter, while Uthmeier brought in $288,843 for his personal campaign account in the same time.

Uthmeier’s quarterly totals included $125,000 from the political committee “A Stronger Florida,” which is linked to the lobbying firm Rubin Turnbull & Associates. 

The tobacco company RAI Services Company of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, wrote a check for $100,000, as did the Republican Party of Florida. The gun manufacturer Sig Sauer Inc., which was behind a failed effort in the 2026 legislative session to shield gun makers from liability lawsuits over a defect that isn’t required by federal law, gave the political committee $50,000.

Uthmeier’s quarterly totals include $27,200 posted in his personal account from the RPOFD for in-kind consulting and staffing assistance.

Another Republican that has filed for the statewide office is Steven Leskovich, a former assistant public Defender from Lee County. Leskovich didn’t report raising any money during the quarter. Before the quarter he had raised $66,446, in addition to putting $50,000 of his own money into the contest.