Danny McAuliffe
Republican Jason Shoaf is embracing the role of political outsider as he campaigns for House District 7.
The Port St. Joe businessman released a new digital ad on Wednesday, promising to “shake things up” by putting “small town values first.”
House District 7, which opened after Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped then-incumbent Republican Halsey Beshears to lead the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, stretches across 10 mostly rural counties in the Big Bend and Panhandle regions.
“At 12, my first job was digging ditches,” Shoaf opens in the ad. “I understand what it means to work hard, earn a dollar and be proud of a job well done.
“The career politicians don’t understand those values.”
Shoaf is a vice president at the St. Joe Gas Company and member of the Triumph Gulf Coast board.
The 15-second spot will air online. Shoaf launched his first television ad last month and remains the only candidate lined up for HD 7 on airwaves.
Three other Republicans — Mike Watkins, Lynda Bell and Virginia Fuller — have said they will compete in the election to replace Beshears.
Watkins is the CEO of Big Bend Community Based Care. Bell is the former Mayor of Homestead and the current president of Florida Right to Life, a nonprofit pro-life advocacy group. Fuller, who waded into the race earlier this week, had unsuccessfully campaigned against Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Lawson in 2018.
Qualifying for the special election began Wednesday and will end Thursday.
Shoaf’s full ad is below, or here:
