Pinellas County School Board member Nina Hayden's campaign donations amounted to $7,900 for her first quarter of fundraising -- roughly a 10th of Republican Jack Latvala's take during the same time in their campaign for Senate District 16.

Hayden, who faced questions from fellow Democrats about her decision to run, faces a candidate who raised $90,000 and has more than $302,000 on hand, tapping connections gleaned in a previous stint in the Legislature.

And Latvala has more coming in, with a fundraiser to celebrate his 58th birthday on Oct. 30 at the Marriott hotel in St. Petersburg. The special guest is U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite.

David DeCamp, Times Staff Writer

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