Jim Rosica
North Florida congressional candidate Mary Thomas has scored another endorsement from a staunch conservative.
Thomas, seeking the seat held by first-term Democrat Gwen Graham, on Tuesday announced the support of state Rep. Mike Hill, a Pensacola Beach Republican.
“Mary shares my values on limited government, reining in profligate spending and adhering to the Constitution,” he said in a prepared statement.
Thomas, he said, “will help save the American Dream.”
Hill, who founded the Northwest Florida Tea Party, is the only African-American Republican in the Legislature.
During the Special Session on congressional redistricting this year, Hill brought forth a proposal to keep Florida’s congressional districts “as is” instead of redrawing them.
He said the state Supreme Court had breached the separation of powers by ruling the current map gerrymandered and unconstitutional. Hill’s move was unsuccessful.
Thomas previously secured endorsements from state Reps. Jimmie Smith, an Inverness Republican and 20-year Army veteran, and Charlie Stone, an Ocala Republican and former Marion County commissioner.
If elected, Thomas would be the first Indian-American woman to serve in Congress. She is a Tallahassee lawyer who worked in Scott’s administration and is now general counsel for the Department of Elder Affairs, according to her online bio.
Panama City urologist Neal Dunn is opposing her in the Republican primary.
