Rich gets lift from matching funds

By News Service of Florida

Outgunned financially by primary opponent Charlie Crist, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nan Rich received a boost this month from $189,151 in state matching funds, newly filed reports show. The matching funds were the vast majority of $198,835 in cash contributions received by Rich from July 26 to Aug. 1. She had raised an overall total of $626,672 as of Aug. 1 while spending $341,726. A committee backing Rich's campaign, known as "Citizens for a Progressive Florida," also had raised $140,315 as of Aug. 1. Crist's campaign, by comparison, had raised nearly $4.9 million, and a closely aligned committee had topped $13.1 million.