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Campaign fundraisers are part of the agenda in Tallahassee this week. The Republican Party of Florida just had its strongest quarter of the year, pulling in five times more donations than the Florida Democratic Party.

Rules prohibit fundraising during Florida’s legislative session. The session will convene in January two months early to give lawmakers time to focus on redistricting.

Florida State University Political Science professor Carol Weissert says lawmakers are eager to collect campaign cash since they’ll be running for reelection in newly drawn districts.

“Legislators simply don’t know where their districts are going to be, and so that provides uncertainty and uncertainty is something that’s not good in politics.”

The Republican Party of Florida raked in $5.5-million in contributions during the third quarter. By comparison, the Florida Democratic Party raised just under $900-thousand.

“Republicans have all the state elected offices in the Cabinet, a big majority of the congressional seats, so the incumbents are there and the incumbents are the ones who tend to get the most money.”

Weissert says there’s been a massive increase in campaign donations overall, in part because the U.S. Supreme Court removed some funding restrictions.

“We’re seeing corporations and labor unions being able to give a lot more money; there are super PAC’s.”

She expects Florida to be awash with spending ahead of the November 2012 elections.