State Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-Cantonment) has no opponent yet for her 2026 reelection bid, but that hasn’t stopped her from burning through her campaign and PAC donations.
Her PAC, Committee to Protect Northwest Florida, has raised $66,000 since the November 2024 general election and spent $122,116 . Her new PAC, Friends of Michelle Salzman has raised $37,950 and spent $15,119. Her 2026 campaign has raised $29,779 and spent $19,033.
In eight months, Salzman has spent $156,268, without having an opponent.
| LARGEST EXPENSE CATEGORIES | |
| EVENTS: SPONSORSHIPS, TICKETS | $ 45,669.61 |
| REIMBURSE SALZMAN | $ 23,033.34 |
| TREASURER SERVICES | $ 19,715.92 |
| CONTRIBUTIONS | $ 16,000.00 |
| FINANCE CONSULTING | $ 11,564.00 |
| TRAVEL & LODGING | $ 8,510.61 |
| EMAIL SERVICES | $ 7,780.00 |
| FOOD AND BEVERAGE | $ 4,384.11 |
History
Since its inception in September 2020, the Committee to Protect Northwest Florida has raised $633,586 and spent $683,138.
- In 2020, Salzman defeated incumbent Mike Hill, 52.5% to 47.5% in the Republican primary, and Franscine Mathis, 65% to 35%, in the general/
- In 2022, she beat Hill again, 65% to 35% in the GOP primary, and Mathis again in the general, 69% to 31%.
- In 2024, Salzman had no opponent in the GOP primary and defeated Mathis for a third term in the general election, 66% to 34%.
In the 2024 race, Salzman’s campaign spent $157,911, almost as much as she has spent in the first seven months of the current cycle. The “conservative” Republican spent $2.69 for every vote she received in 2024.
- Meanwhile, Democrat Mathis spent only $6,397, an average of 21 cents per vote.
Dig Deeper: Fellow Republican lawmaker Alex Andrade has been in office two years longer and has been a much better fundraiser than Salzman. He has raised over $1 million, $287,500 in the first quarter of 2025.
Since 2018, Andrade’s Constituent Priorities has spent $683,138—about $101,205 annually, and he has faced more heavily contested races than Salzman.
Andrade cannot run for reelection because of term limits. His PAC has increased its disbursements since the 2024 general election—shelling out $143,968, about 20% of what it has raised since 2018 – more than in contributions to other campaigns and political committees and to consulting services. His sponsorships include $11,700 to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
The PAC’s biggest expense categories for the past eight months are:
| CONTRIBUTIONS | $ 32,000.00 |
| FUNDRAISING CONSULTING SERVICES | $ 44,570.00 |
| SPONSORSHIPS | $ 16,700.00 |
| FOOD/BEVERAGES FOR MEETING | $ 5,699.75 |
| ADVERTISING | $ 3,395.00 |
| TRAVEL | $ 3,017.61 |
| EVENTS | $ 1,159.60 |
It’s amazing to see so much fundraising when there is no viable opponent from the other party. What it tells me, them, is that all of the money must be for me inter party slimefest. How is it possible to find suckers, err, donors who are only buying tickets to a mud wrestling match between twins. It’s so dumb that I can’t believe the citizens of Cantonment don’t vote for the Democrat out of sheer boredom alone, much less how little their candidates think of their intellectual judgement, political or otherwise.