Again, Florida Democratic Party raises more money than once mighty Florida GOP

For the second fundraising quarter in a row, the Florida Democratic Party raised more than the increasingly beleagured Florida GOP. The state Democratic Party raised $1.6 million from July through September, compared to the Republican Party of Florida, which raised $1 million - five times less than it did in the same fundraising period five years ago.

This would have been almost unthinkable a few years ago, and it reflects the waning influence of state parties as political committees rise in importance. Even more so it reflects how the state GOP has essentially been orphaned by Gov. Rick Scott and most other major GOP players. Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran had been keeping some money flowing to the party, but lately he’s been concentrating on his own political committee.

The bad news for Democrats -- besides the GOP gubernatorial candidates blowing away their Democratic counterparts in money-raising -- Democrats spent more than $2 million in that same period, compared to nearly $1.6 million spent by the Republican Party.