Drew Wilson
Cape Coral Republican Rep. Dane Eagle picked up a challenger in his final campaign for Lee County’s House District 77.
Democrat Michael David Garcia, also of Cape Coral, filed for the seat on Thursday and is so far the only candidate gunning to unseat Eagle in the deep red district.
Garcia, 40, as well as his treasurer, Jamie Rogers of Lehigh Acres, are members of the LGBTQ community in Southwest Florida. Rogers led a protest in Fort Myers shortly after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016.
Garcia faces long odds in HD 77 due to the district’s Republican advantage and Eagle’s substantial fundraising ability.
Eagle had raised nearly $115,000 for his re-election bid as of March 31 and had $27,312 in the bank. His sizable burn rate in what until now was an uncontested race includes several recurring consulting payments.
Terry Miller’s TM Strategic Consulting has received nearly $28,000 so far this cycle, followed by more than $10,000 to Maine-based Action Point Campaigns and more than $8,000 to both Winter Garden-based BHB Consulting and Tallahassee-based EM Campaigns.
HD 77 is a safe GOP seat. Republicans make up 43 percent of the HD 77 electorate compared to a 26 percent share for Democrats. The district covers Cape Coral and extends to the northern border of Lee County.
Eagle has had little trouble holding onto his seat since he was first elected in 2012. He took more than 60 percent of the vote in his 2012 campaign, and defended his seat in a four-way Republican Primary in 2014 before cruising past a write-in in the general election.
In 2016, he was re-elected without opposition.
