Vero Beach Native Winkler Raises $150K for Open Sarasota House Seat

Jennifer Winkler, a Vero Beach native who built an insurance business from the ground up in Sarasota County, has raised $150,000 in her Republican primary bid for House District 74 — the open seat created by term limits on Rep. James Buchanan.

Winkler's haul includes nearly $42,000 raised during the first quarter through her campaign account and an additional $2,000 through her Friends of Jennifer Winkler political committee. Lean spending has left her with roughly $83,000 in campaign cash and more than $57,000 in her political committee — a war chest that positions her among the stronger-funded candidates in a field growing more competitive by the week.

That field includes Chris Felder, Les Nichols, Venice Mayor Nick Pachota and Kelly Ann Walker. Walker currently leads with roughly $300,000 on hand — a figure boosted by a $100,000 personal loan to her campaign, public records show. Pachota trails with about $97,000 in campaign cash and $115,000 in his political committee after raising nearly $33,000 in the first quarter. Nichols and Felder each hold minimal cash on hand and reported no new fundraising this quarter.

Winkler, who was raised in Vero Beach and graduated from the University of Central Florida, has lived in Sarasota County since 2010. She founded The Peeples Insurance Agency in 2014. The firm now employs 21 full-time staff across three Florida locations and serves more than 6,500 clients statewide, her campaign said. The business's scale places it in the top 2 percent of women-owned businesses nationally, her campaign noted.

Her platform centers on insurance affordability and cost-of-living relief — issues she argues her professional background uniquely qualifies her to address in Tallahassee.

HD 74 covers much of Sarasota County, where registered Republicans account for roughly half the electorate compared to about 23 percent Democrats and 27 percent unaffiliated or minor-party voters, campaign data show. The seat is widely considered safe for Republicans, making the August primary the race that will effectively choose Buchanan's successor. Two Democrats, Ryan Neill and Nancy M. H. Simpson, have also filed; neither has raised significant funds to date.

The qualifying period remains open, and additional candidates may still enter the race.

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