Lee commission race heats up

Half a dozen candidates have already lined up for Tammy Hall's seat on the Lee County Commission.

Hall resigned last month after she agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud for embezzling money from her campaign account. Lee County Commission Chairman Cecil Pendergrass says he's asked Florida Gov. Rick Scott to appoint an interim commissioner until the voters choose a replacement in next year's elections.

According to the Lee County Supervisor of Elections, the six candidates running for Hall's seat in the 2014 election include five Republicans and one Democrat. Two of them, Republicans Josh McGrail and Larry Murphy, filed within days of Hall's resignation.

Meanwhile, another Republican candidate, Brian Hamman, has the lead in fundraising for Hall's District 4 commission seat, according to campaign finance records. He's raised just more than $13,000 from 60 donors. The second-highest fundraiser for the district seat so far is former Lee County Manager Don Stilwell with $2,250.