A.G. Gancarski
The battle of the Als is now confirmed.
Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown qualified Wednesday to run against incumbent Rep. Al Lawson in North Florida’s sprawling, east-west Congressional District 5.
Lawson, who ended Corrine Brown‘s political career in 2016, seeks to “retire” Alvin Brown, maintaining his hold over the cartographically schizoid Jacksonville-to-Tallahassee seat.
Brown announced his qualification Wednesday, via media release and aspirational quotes.
“I am proud of the strong grassroots campaign we are building, and as I speak with people across the district, I hear time and again that North Florida needs a results-oriented fighter in Congress who will work in their best interest — not protect the status quo. I couldn’t agree more, which is why I am honored to qualify for the ballot,” Brown said.
“The people of the 5th District deserve a champion who will be their voice in Washington and promote policies that can help create real economic opportunity,” Brown continued. “I am confident that, together, we can do better as we work to raise wages, foster innovation and job creation, make smart investments in education and infrastructure, expand access to quality, affordable health care, and give our servicemen and women the respect, dignity, and care they deserve while serving our country and after they return home. I pledge to always have our community’s back and fight for the issues that matter to North Florida.”
Brown launched his campaign Saturday in Jacksonville, at an event that drew about 100. His rhetoric and persona were similar to his mayoral candidate personal honed in the campaigns of 2011 and 2015.
Lawson filed to run Tuesday, and WTXL of Tallahassee was there, grabbing quotes.
“While I served in the Legislature, I served almost 20 years under Republican leadership, so it’s time that Florida come back,” said Lawson. “Florida is always viewed as a more conservative state, but I think, in light of the things that have happened, the problem that we have with guns and gun violence in the state, I think we need a Democratic perspective to change a lot of that.”
Lawson has started his campaign slowly and with a high burn rate given his campaign’s torpidity up until now.
As of the end of March, his campaign had just under $160,000 on hand — roughly half of the almost $320,000 raised, with very little laid out in the way of a campaign infrastructure.
Brown, who raised $167,000 in his first quarter in the race, had almost $128,000 on hand.
When Lawson defeated Corrine Brown, he benefited from several tail winds, such as a Jacksonville spoiler candidate, an incumbent under indictment, and on-hand cash advantage (as Brown, awaiting a fraud trial, was not able to fundraise.
It will be interesting to see how Lawson deals with an opponent who can run a functional campaign.
