Trump dominates in contributions from Polk County
President Trump's campaign has received nearly 5,000 contributions from Lakeland residents, compared to 1,151 for Biden.
Gary White
LAKELAND — During the most expensive election season on record, Polk County residents have been writing plenty of checks to candidates and political committees.
And in a county that reliably votes Republican, it’s no surprise that most of the money is flowing to President Donald Trump’s campaign, the Republican Party and affiliated groups.
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A review of Federal Election Commission records finds that about twice as many Polk County residents have given the maximum allowed amount to Trump’s campaign than to that of Democratic challenger Joe Biden. A contingent of local residents has also made sizeable donations to committees supporting Trump’s reelection effort.
The leading contributors are Julie Fancelli and her son, Gregory Fancelli. Both split their residences between Lakeland and Italy.
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Julie Fancelli, the daughter of Publix Super Markets founder George Jenkins, has contributed more than half a million dollars to candidates and committees, some of them in other states.
Both Fancellis have given the maximum $2,800 per election cycle to Trump’s campaign. Julie Fancelli (sometimes identified in FEC records as “Julia” Fancelli) has gone far beyond that amount in donations to committees, which don’t face contribution limits.
Fancelli has given $206,000 to the Republican National Committee, $171,000 to the Trump Victory Committee and $5,600 to Donald J. Trump for President. FEC records show she has written checks for $10,000 to Republican committees in about 20 states, including Kentucky, Nevada and New Mexico, as well as Florida.
Gregory Fancelli has given $5,600 to the National Republican Congressional Committee and the same amount to the Trump Victory Committee.
Neither Gregory nor Julie Fancelli could be reached for comment.
Other Polk County residents have also sent substantial contributions to Trump’s campaign and associated committees. Those making the maximum donations to the president’s campaign include Gianpaolo and Jennifer Marchi, Andrew and Brooke Agnini and Robert Knight, all of Lakeland, and Wesley Barnett of Winter Haven.
Knight, president of Knight Industrial Equipment in Lakeland, also donated $11,200 to the Trump Victory Committee. Gianpaolo and Jennifer Marchi each gave the committee $5,600, as did Andrew and Brooke Agnini.
Gianpaolo Marchi is listed in FEC records as manager of J&M Ranch, and Jennifer Marchi is listed as a manager at Tampa General Hospital. Andrew Agnini is a dentist, and Brooke Agnini is active (along with Gregory Fancelli) in historic preservation projects.
Renee Butler of Winter Haven has contributed about $12,000 to the Trump Victory Committee. Butler is a real estate agent.
It’s not as if Biden and Democratic groups have received no money from Polk County residents.
Tom Mims, president and CEO of T. Mims Corp., a real estate development company, is the leading donor. Mims and his wife, Paula Mims, have made the maximum individual contributions per cycle to Biden’s campaign.
Tom Mims, a Lakeland resident, said he has also given about $100,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that supports Biden and other Democratic groups. FEC records show $5,600 of that money going to Biden’s campaign, with the rest dispersed to various entities, such as the Arizona Democratic Party.
Mims, who served as a Democrat in the Florida Legislature from 1988 to 1992, has long supported Democratic candidates and causes. He said he serves on the Biden Southeast Regional Finance Committee, and he is part of a Facebook group called Former Florida Legislators for Good Government.
Mims said he and his wife have stood on sidewalks during the campaign to wave Biden signs. He said he sometimes receives good-natured ribbing from Republican friends for his support of Democrats and for the Biden campaign sign in his yard.
Trump carried Polk County in the 2016 election with 54.9% of the vote. Does Mims feel like an outsider in such a solidly red county?
“I would say that we feel strongly that we’re going to be on the right side of history in this election,” Mims said. “A change has to be made, and we are putting our resources toward that change.”
The Mimses aren’t the only Polk County residents making significant donations to Biden and Democrats.
C.C. “Doc” Dockery of Lakeland has given the maximum $2,800 per election cycle to Biden’s campaign. He is the husband of Paula Dockery, a former state legislator. Dockery was a Republican throughout her time in office but has since left the party and is involved with The Lincoln Project, a coalition of former Republicans opposed to Trump’s reelection.
Members of the Thornhill family of Winter Haven — Robert Thornhill III, Robert Thornhill Jr. and Cathy Thornhill — have given contributions of $2,800 each to Biden’s campaign. Robert Thornhill III is an attorney with Howell & Thornhill.
David Henry, identified as a lawyer with Morgan & Morgan in Lakeland, gave $2,800 to Biden’s campaign, as did Pamela Henry, listed as not employed.
Overall, individual donations to Trump’s campaign from Polk County far outweigh those to Biden. FEC records show nearly 5,000 contributions to Trump from Lakeland residents, 1,837 from Winter Haven residents and 959 from Davenport residents.
Biden has received 1,151 donations from Lakeland residents, 478 from Winter Haven residents and 429 from Davenport residents.
A partial review of individual records found contributions as small as 37 cents.
J.C. Martin, chairman of the Polk County Republican Party, said Trump's advantage in contributions from local residents matches the evidence of support he has seen. Martin predicted that Trump will carry Polk County by a larger margin than the 39,900-vote edge he had in 2016.
"I think it's twofold," Martin said of Trump's lead in contributions from Polk County. "It shows the depth of the support for the president, but it also shows the extra involvement that the public is taking in this election. I see that even at our county party level. We're raising a lot more money than we usually do, and we didn’t even have any events this year. We didn't do our big dinner because of the (COVID-19) virus."
Martin said the influx of donations to the Polk County Republican Party has allowed an expansion of radio commercials, campaign literature and volunteer outreach.
In congressional races, Polk County residents have donated much more to Republicans than to Democrats. Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin, running for the U.S. House District 15 seat, has received 163 individual contributions from Lakeland residents.
His opponent, Democrat Alan Cohn of Tampa, has collected 28 individual donations from Lakeland residents.
Of the contributions to Franklin from Lakelanders, 72 have been checks for $1,000 or more. A scan of FEC records found no contributions of that size to Cohn from Lakeland residents.
Nearly two dozen city residents have made maximum donations of $2,800 per election cycle to Franklin. Those contributors include retired Publix executive Barney Barnett and his wife, Carol Jenkins Barnett (daughter of the Publix founder), Jack Harrell Jr. and Wesley Beck.
Locals have also provided ample financial support to Wingman PAC, a committee formed to help Franklin upset incumbent U.S. Rep. Ross Spano in the Republican primary. The committee continues to advocate for Franklin in the general election, though it isn’t allowed to coordinate with his campaign.
Both Barney Barnett and Harrell have contributed $50,000 to Wingman PAC, while Wesley Barnett — Barney’s son — and Beck have each given $10,000.
Barney Barnett has also given $50,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, a committee supporting Republican candidates.
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, the only Democrat representing Polk County at the state or federal level, faces Republican newcomer Bill Olson of Davenport in the U.S. House District 9 race. That district covers eastern Polk County and parts of Orange and Osceola counties.
A search of FEC records found no contributions for the maximum allowed amount to Soto’s campaign from Polk County residents. Olson received one — a $2,800 check from Christi Barfield, identified as vice president of Barfield Insurance in Winter Haven.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, is running for reelection against Democrat Allen Ellison of Sebring. Steube, who holds a commanding lead in campaign funds, has received checks for the maximum $2,800 in each election cycle from Neil Myers, a lawyer from Lake Wales.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.
By The Numbers
Total individual contributions to presidential candidates from local residents
Lakeland
Donald Trump 4,939; Joe Biden 1,151
Winter Haven
Trump 1,837; Biden 478
Davenport
Trump 959; Biden 429
Lake Wales
Trump 656; Biden 263
Haines City
Trump 497; Biden 55