A.G. Gancarski
On Wednesday, Jacksonville Democrat Reggie Fullwood qualified to run for re-election in House District 13, ending weeks of uncertainty regarding whether he would run.
Fullwood received 14 federal indictments on April 15, setting into motion a wave of speculation as to whether or not he would run for re-election.
Ten of those indictments were for wire fraud, related to using his campaign account for personal purchases. This has been deemed, by federal prosecutors, as defrauding both contributors and the state Division of Elections.
The other four were for failure to file federal income tax returns.
Fullwood, who confirmed to FloridaPolitics.com he was running back in April, has said he intends to prove the indictments are a “misrepresentation” of the facts of the case.
The trial will be sometime in August.
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Fullwood begins the campaign with no money in his account, raising no funds for five reporting periods. This fact is especially notable, given that he paid the qualifying fee.
And he begins the campaign with a phalanx of competition. Democrats Lee Brown and former Duval Supervisor of Elections candidate Tracie Davis have qualified for the Aug. 30 primary, with Fleming Islander J.R. Gaillot still active but not yet qualifying as of Thursday morning.
If he emerges with the Democratic nomination, he will face Republican opposition.
Pastor Mark Griffin and local financial consultant Keith Walters have already qualified for the race as of Thursday morning, and Walters slammed Fullwood for running again in a statement provided to FloridaPolitics.com.
“Rep. Fullwood’s decision to run is exactly what’s wrong with the political class — a self-serving attitude that even in scandal makes one believe they are entitled to hold onto ‘their’ position in public office. A change is needed; the challenges from within even his own party should make that clear,” Walters opined.
In addition to Griffin and Walters, Daniel Evans and Darren Gardner are still active candidates as of Thursday morning.
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Fullwood’s legal issues with campaign finance are not necessarily unusual, as he has faced in the past challenges that many candidates, especially career politicians, manage to avoid.
In 2010, Fullwood faced a post-election residency challenge; it was claimed he lived outside of his district.
In 2014, Fullwood filed to run for re-election; however, two notary errors invalidated his filing, leading to a special election that cost $326,000.
Despite his issues last time around, he won the special election primary and general elections by double digits in both cases.
Will history repeat?
