House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell is far outpacing her opponent in the race for Senate District 16 as she hopes to replace outgoing state Sen. Darryl Rouson.

Driskell entered the fourth quarter of 2025 with a more than $200,000 cash advantage over state Rep. Michele Rayner. She grew that lead in the fourth quarter, which covers financial activity from October through December. Driskell now has nearly $370,000 on hand between her campaign account and two affiliated political committees, an advantage over Rayner of about $340,000.

Driskell and Rayner are both Democrats, as is Rouson. SD 16 is overwhelmingly blue. Of the district’s electorate, 47% of the district’s voters are registered as Democrats, compared to just 23% for Republicans. Driskell and Rayner are the only two candidates filed for the race.

Driskell’s campaign raised $42,000 in the fourth quarter and ended the period with more than $70,000 on hand. Support was largely grassroots, with 128 contributions averaging about $330 each.

Top donors cutting $1,000 checks include a Teamsters union in Tampa; the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists; HCA North Florida; HCA West Florida; the Florida Home Builders PAC; the political committee supporting the Hillsborough County firefighters union; and several individuals, including former University of South Florida President Betty Castor, the mother of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor.

Driskell’s campaign spent more than $51,000 in the fourth quarter, with top expenditures covering consulting services. That includes nearly $10,000 to Hard Ask Consulting in Tallahassee, about $8,000 to campaign consultant Beth Matuga, and $20,000 to Tampa-based consultant Dixson Catalina Margaux.

The Driskell campaign also dropped several thousand on legal services, including $5,000 to the Legal Analytics Corp. and about $3,800 to the Messer Caparello law firm in Tallahassee.

Driskell has two political committees, How We all Win, which raised $22,500 in the fourth quarter, and Fentrice for Florida, which raised more than $150,000. The former retains about $65,000, while the latter has about $229,000 still on hand. Collectively, the two committees boast nearly $300,000 in spending power on Driskell’s behalf.

There were 34 contributions to the Fentrice for Florida committee, averaging more than $4,400 each. Top donors include $25,000 each from three political committees largely funded by Walt Disney World: Brighter Florida, Associated Industries for Florida’s Future, and Floridians Solving Problems.

Other large donations include $10,000 each from Tampa-based S/R Service and Support Corp., the Searcy Denney Scarola BarnHart law firm in Tampa, and the Terrell Hogan Yegelwel law firm in Jacksonville.

The Fentrice for Florida committee spent more than $32,000 in the fourth quarter, including nearly $10,000 to Hard Ask Consulting, more than $5,000 to Matuga, $6,000 to New York-based Otis Gaddis III for consulting services, and $5,000 to the Legal Analytics Corp.

How We All Win raised $22,500 in the fourth quarter. The Building a Better Florida political committee was the top contributor, at $12,000. The group typically supports Republicans. The Seminole Tribe of Florida kicked in $5,000, while Humana and Novartis Services each donated $2,500.

The committee spent just over $6,000 in the quarter, with most of that ($5,000) going to the Legal Analytics Corp.

Rayner’s campaign, meanwhile, raised just $8,405 in the fourth quarter, mostly from small-dollar contributions. The campaign spent more than it raised, at nearly $8,700, which mostly covered consulting services. The campaign held less than $20,000 heading into 2026.

Rayner’s committee, Florida Always and Forever Ours, did slightly better, though still far lagged Driskell’s quarter, with $16,500 raised and a little less than $10,000 spent. The committee has about $18,000 left. Together, Rayner has less than $38,000 available heading into the new year.

Driskell’s fundraising activity across all accounts included some buy-in from donors who typically support Republicans, suggesting she may be collecting cross-party support. That could help her in an open Primary, which would occur if no Republican enters the race and no one files as a write-in to close the Primary.

Driskell will be a formidable candidate in the race. She’s Harvard-educated, with a law degree from Georgetown, and is telegenic, with a strong platform as a party leader.

And she is also the first Black woman to lead the Florida House Democrats, and was the first person in more than 30 years to be elected to the position twice.

But Rayner is likely to capitalize on more progressive support, and she boasts her own impressive résumé as a civil rights lawyer. Perhaps most famously locally, Rayner represented the family of Markeis McGlockton, who was shot and killed in 2018 during a parking space dispute.

No charges were initially filed, with Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law. But Michael Drejka was eventually charged and found guilty of manslaughter in a case that was ultimately upheld by an appeals court.

Driskell officially launched her field program on Saturday, with a kickoff event featuring Good Girls Govern founder Harlie Williams, Tampa City Council member Naya Young, New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Larry Roundtree and former state Rep. Sean Shaw.

Neither Driskell nor Rayner will be able to raise funds during the Legislative Session, which officially begins Tuesday and is set to run for 60 days.

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