Newcomer piles up money for Tampa Bay Senate race

BY THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

A late entrant into the race for a Senate seat in the Tampa Bay area has quickly grabbed a financial edge over his three Democratic primary opponents. Attorney Augie Ribeiro, who got into the Senate District 19 race the day before the June 24 qualifying deadline, raised $101,810 over two weeks and loaned $302,500 to his campaign, according to a newly filed finance report. Ribeiro, a St. Petersburg resident who filed a financial disclosure form listing a net worth of $29.3 million, faces state Rep. Ed Narain, D-Tampa, state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, and former state Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, in the Aug. 30 primary election. District 19 includes parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In newly filed campaign-finance reports, Narain reported raising $23,130 from June 25 to July 8 and had about $72,000 in cash on hand. Rouson, meanwhile, raised $8,135 during the two-week period and had about $42,000 on hand. Reed raised $1,485 and had more than $17,400 on hand, the reports show.