Ryan Ray
Republican Donnie Horner III filed campaign paperwork Wednesday to run for House District 11 to succeed term-limited Rep. Janet Adkins, according to Florida Division of Elections records.
Horner is a Jacksonville resident who works as a national sales representative for Beaver Street Fisheries, according to the candidate’s LinkedIn profile. He is also the son of former Jacksonville municipal education commissioner Donnie Horner Jr.
A political science graduate of the U.S Naval Academy, Horner earned an master’s degree in business administration from Jacksonville University in 2011.
Horner joins a clutch of five other candidates pursuing the northeastern Florida seat. So far all of them — Cord Byrd, Jack Daniels, Barry V. Holloway, Tom C. Taylor and Sheri Treadwell — are Republicans, making for a loaded primary battle in the heavily GOP-skewing district.
So far Treadwell, a Duval County elections staff member, leads the way in early fundraising, garnering $19,100 since her entry into the race on March 9.
Byrd, a Jacksonville Beach lawyer, has raised $6,150, while Holloway’s campaign account holds $3,350 and Taylor’s $2,750.
The sublimely named Daniels filed for office late last month, so no campaign finance records are yet available.
The 11th district contains all of Nassau County as well as part of eastern Duval on the Atlantic Ocean, creating what David Royse called in his Political Almanac of Florida a mixture of “back woods and coastal affluence.” Forbes magazine called Amelia Island in Nassau the No. 3 destination for wealthy Americans on the move in 2010, while much of the land inland from it remains undeveloped timberland.
As of 2014 the district’s registered voters were 51 percent Republican to 26.5 percent Democratic, 18.6 percent identifying with neither party.
