Staff Reports
Lisa Carlton has decided she will not run for Florida agriculture commissioner.
Instead, the former state Senator, who co-owns a cattle ranch with her family, will focus on her new role as a member of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission.
As first reported by Zac Anderson the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Carlton, a Sarasota Republican, has changed her mind since January, when she told the paper she was considering a statewide campaign in 2018 for agriculture commissioner.
Last week, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Carlton to the CRC, the panel which meets every 20 years to put Florida Constitution amendments on the ballot in 2018.
“It is imperative that my service to the CRC not conflict with the politics of campaigning for a statewide office,” Carlton told the Herald-Tribune. “Therefore, while my family and I have sincerely appreciated the strong support from friends around the state who have been encouraging me to seek the Florida Agricultural Commissioner seat next year, at this time I do not plan to seek elected office.”
Carlton said she wants to spend the next year “traveling the state and hearing my fellow Floridians’ ideas for improving our state’s founding document.”
