Sarasota Republican drops out of HD 72 race, makes way for Ray Pilon re-election bid

Ray Pilon throws his hat in the ring once again.

Florida Division of Elections records show Republican Robert Wyatt has bowed out of the District 72 race, officially clearing the way for Sarasota Republican Rep. Ray Pilon to run for his final term without in-party competition.

Wyatt, the treasurer for the Republican Party of Sarasota, filed for the seat in March and loaned his campaign $150,000 within the first few weeks of his campaign. The businessman told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune he never intended to run against Pilon, bu was interested if Pilon opted to run for Venice Republican Nancy Detert’s senate seat.

Pilon said he wouldn’t make a 2016 senate run in June, though Wyatt stayed in the race another two months before formally ending his campaign Aug. 24. Pilon could change his mind, but Wyatt’s exit is more likely a footnote on one of the wilder legislative shuffle scenarios this cycle.

Currently, former Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson and former Rep. Doug Holder are filed for Detert’s District 28 senate seat for the 2018 election, with Sarasota Republican Rep. Greg Steube also dead set on a run if Detert steps out early.

Though Pilon said internal polls showed he would be competitive in the race, his exit saved him from what’s sure to have been a grueling campaign. Wyatt’s candidacy likely wasn’t the third-term representative’s biggest concern, though.

Since Democrat Edward James III filed for the seat in mid-June, he’s trounced Pilon in fundraising, bringing in nearly $39,000 in his first six weeks on the trail. James’ political committee, New Direction Florida, brought in an additional $22,900 in the same span.

After the July numbers came in, James said his combined campaign and PAC contributions were the highest of any House candidate for that month. Between the two accounts, James has $53,365 cash on-hand.

Pilon still holds a slim advantage in overall fundraising, with about $63,770 in contributions since he filed for reelection in Nov. 2014, though he’s brought in less than $9,000 since the start of the 2015 session in March. The veteran lawmaker said he was unfazed by the James’ fundraising, and is confident he’ll be able to put some distance between him and his challenger.

“He had the advantage of being able to get out of the gate really quickly, and that’s what a formidable opponent should do,” Pilon said in July.

“People sometimes peak too early,” he observed.

District 72 has a Republican tilt, though it is vulnerable. President Barack Obama took 51 percent of the vote in the district in 2008, and 48 percent in 2012. Pilon has shown he knows how to mount a successful defense, though. He beat Democrat Liz Alpert 54-46 in 2012 and stomped Greg Para in his 2014 run, winning his third term by 15 points.