Second Democrat files against Gus Bilirakis in CD 12

Chris Hunter, CD 12 Democratic Candidate, with Family (Photo pulled from official campaign website)

A former federal prosecutor and FBI agent announced Tuesday he would run against Palm Harbor Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis in Florida’s 12th Congressional District.

The congressional race marks the first political foray for Trinity Democrat Chris Hunter, who said he was inspired to enter the race due to concerns over President Donald Trump’s and Bilirakis’ leadership.

Chris Hunter, CD 12 Democratic Candidate, standing on grassy clearing (Photo pulled from official campaign website)
Chris Hunter, a Democrat, announced Tuesday that he will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis in Florida’s 12th Congressional District.

“I am running for Congress against a career politician who has been in office for two decades. Career politicians who sell out to the highest bidder or to political power brokers violate the trust we all place in our government. What’s worse, they turn their backs on our shared values and the true meaning of American service,” Hunter wrote on his campaign website.

Even though Hunter already has his sights set on the incumbent, he’ll need to get through a Democratic Primary against Mathew Thomas, a software engineer who has been in the CD 12 race since June and has levied plenty of his own attacks against Bilirakis.

Bilirakis is currently in his sixth term in congress. Prior to winning his U.S. House seat in 2006, he served four terms in the Florida House. Through the end of the third quarter, Bilirakis had raised more than $500,000 for his re-election and had $281,621 cash on hand. Thomas, through the same date, had raised $6,173 and had $3,645 cash on hand.

Hunter bills himself as the son of a schoolteacher and U.S. Marine who “was raised in a home where service to others was a way of life.” He is double alumnus of Boston College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1995 followed by a law degree in 1998.

After law school, Hunter worked as a prosecutor, but the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks inspired him to join the FBI, where he focused on counterintelligence, counterterrorism and international fugitive investigations.

Post-bureau, the 44-year-old has worked as a teacher at the Stetson University College of Law and the University of Tampa, and has also worked as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice on a health care fraud strike force, where he helped shutdown and prosecute Medicare and TRICARE scammers.

“Our American story, the story we all share, is powerful,” he wrote. “Let’s use the power of our stories to renew our shared American values and restore honest American service.”

CD 12 covers all of Pasco County and parts of northern Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. The seat carries a heavy advantage for Republicans, who make up nearly 40 percent of the electorate compared to 33 percent who are registered Democrats and 27 percent who don’t belong to one of the major parties.

In 2012, when CD 12 was redrawn from the old CD 9, the district voted 54-46 in favor of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Bilirakis outperformed the top of the ticket with 63 percent of the vote on Election Day that year, followed by an unopposed run in 2014.

Last year, Bilirakis captured nearly 69 percent of the vote against Democrat Robert Tager – a 12 point lead over Trump, who beat Hillary Clinton 57-39 in the district.

Drew Wilson

Drew Wilson covers legislative campaigns and fundraising for Florida Politics. He is a former editor at The Independent Florida Alligator and business correspondent at The Hollywood Reporter. Wilson, a University of Florida alumnus, covered the state economy and Legislature for LobbyTools and The Florida Current prior to joining Florida Politics.


2 comments

  • Suzie C

    January 2, 2018 at 8:46 pm

    I was under the impression there are now 4 democrat candidates. Robert Tager is running again, and there is at least one other as well as a few NPA’s.

  • Aaron

    January 13, 2018 at 11:26 pm

    Drew,

    Part of responsible journalism is doing your research and presenting factual information. They are not only two Democrats who have filed to run for this seat. There is also Robert Tager who is running for United States Congress, district 12, as he was on others ballot’s last year and has filed to run again, which you failed to mention in this story, which makes the headline missleading as well.

    I recommend that you either make a revision to the story or write another piece covering all of the candidates, especially the candidate that many people who are politically active in Pasco County that live in District 12, believe will win this primary as he did in 2016 and that person is Robert Tager .

    Drew, be more responsible with your writing…

Comments are closed.


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