Jim Rosica
First-term Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum took his name out of contention for the new 5th Congressional District that now includes part of Leon County, a Friday news release states.
The state’s congressional seats were redrawn after a court challenge, with the 5th District now being east-west, from Jacksonville into the Big Bend region.
Gillum had suggested he might explore a primary challenge to current Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown. Former state Sen. Al Lawson, another Tallahassee Democrat, already had announced he will run for the seat.
After “thinking back” on his first year in office, the 36-year-old Gillum decided to stay put.
“My reflections have shown me that my heart is with the City of Tallahassee,” he said in the statement. “I will continue to assess how I can best serve our community and state in the future, but I am committed to fulfilling my term and building on the tremendous progress we have already made.
“In making this decision, I realize that there may still be major shifts in the race for the 5th Congressional District,” he said. “Despite this anticipated change, my decision is final, as is my pledge to continue serving the citizens of Tallahassee.”
Last month, a longtime Democratic Party official told FloridaPolitics.com it would be difficult for Gillum to knock off Brown, a two-decade veteran of Congress.
For one example, Democratic National Committeeman Jon Ausman of Tallahassee said, 56 percent of the vote in the new 5th District is in Duval County, Brown’s home turf, with about only 23 percent in Leon County.
“It’s going to be tough,” Ausman said. “I mean, you’re going to have to really beat up Corrine in her own county to prevail.”
The redrawing also changed the 2nd District, now represented by Democrat Gwen Graham, into a heavily Republican district that will be difficult to defend.
Graham, also of Tallahassee, has not yet announced her political plans; the new congressional map split Leon County between the two new districts.
