Ryan Ray
House budget chief and Speaker Designate Richard Corcoran drew a primary opponent Thursday in Ronson Hale Biedrzycki of Brooksville, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Biedrzycki filed paperwork to run for House District 37 on May 12 as a Republican.
The 36-year-old with libertarian leanings is unlikely to raise much money compared with the vast sums Corcoran is known for amassing, $196,450 in hard money alone was collected for his 2016 campaign account by April. Biedrzycki is involved with Wolf-PAC Florida, a group that seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to create publicly financed campaigns for all candidates.
Corcoran raised a great deal more than that, up to $280,000, when he first took office in 2012. His affiliated political committee, Florida Roundtable, had raised $1.42 million as of publication time.
Biedrzycki has made several social media posts that castigate Florida politicos for their prolific fundraising efforts. He also linked to a radio segment co-hosted by former Libertarian candidate for governor Adrian Wyllie on The 1787 Network that discusses what the hosts said amounts to “corruption in government,” specifically detailing employment ties between former Speaker Will Weatherford and Sen. Wilton Simpson, who hails from the same region of western central Florida as the newly minted candidate.
Corcoran is widely seen as a highly influential éminence grise within the House GOP caucus, adept at pulling strings behind the scenes and building coalitions for legislative action.
The only thing more unlikely than a victory by Biedrzycki might be a win by a Democrat: District 37 is a steeply Republican seat, offering the Rs a voter registration advantage of nearly 50 percent.
No Democrat so far has filed for the seat.
HD 37 is 83 percent white and contains a large swath of inland Pasco County, along the Suncoast Parkway.
