A.G. Gancarski
Though the majority of the Jacksonville political establishment has cast its lot with Marco Rubio for President, Ted Cruz backers remain on the Christian right.
The “Ted Cruz Faith and Values Coalition” released a list of 43 prominent supporters. The majority of them will be best known to the faith-based community. Some, however, are known by a more general audience.
Former Jacksonville City Council President Ginger Soud, most recently known for helping to thwart the expansion of Jacksonville’s Human Rights Ordinance, is likely the most prominent name on the list.
Other names of note include Pastor Gene Youngblood and his son Geoff Youngblood; the former was heavily involved in the anti-HRO expansion movement, and the latter lost by over 10 percent to Tommy Hazouri in an election for City Council in May 2015.
Another electoral loser backing Cruz: Mike Anania, who lost his City Council election to Joyce Morgan in May of last year also.
Body Catlin and Diann Catlin, who likewise were staunch opponents of HRO expansion, have thrown in with Cruz also.
With this kind of support from the faith-based community, the March 15 primary results in Duval County will serve as a useful gauge of this Ted Cruz coalition’s real support in the Republican Party.
