Illinois Billionaire-Funded Super PAC Floods Competitive Florida House Race With Negative Ads
Progress Pinellas PAC has spent $4.7 million on ads and mailers attacking Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna.
A super PAC funded by a finance industry executive from Chicago is spending millions on attack ads and other media to boost the chances of a Democratic candidate in a competitive Florida House race.
Since last November, a group called Progress Pinellas PAC has spent more than $6.8 million in the Florida 13th Congressional District race. The bulk of the money, more than $4.7 million, has been spent to oppose Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna with negative TV ads and mailers, while the remainder went towards materials to support Democratic candidate Eric Lynn.
The $4.7 million that Progress Pinellas has spent against Luna dwarfs the total amount that her own campaign has raised—about $2.7 million as of the end of September. Overall, the PAC has spent more than any other single-House-race-focused outside spending group this cycle, according to OpenSecrets.
Progress Pinellas PAC was established in November 2021 by a former campaign treasurer for former Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Its only donor as of its most recent FEC filing, which covers through the end of September, is Justin Ishbia, a founding partner of Chicago private equity firm Shore Capital Partners. Ishbia has donated at least $5 million to Progress Pinellas PAC, according to FEC data.
