A.G. Gancarski
Sam Garrison, a Republican lawyer from Orange Park, looks certain to be the next state Representative from House District 18.
Garrison, the law partner of Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, is pursuing the HD 18 nomination in 2020, with incumbent Travis Cummings (the current House budget chair) pursuing Bradley’s seat.
Garrison’s the only Republican in the race in deep-red Clay County, and a third straight month of strong establishment fundraising in March guarantees that it will stay that way.
The candidate raised $9,800 in March, giving him $95,250 raised and roughly $83,000 on hand.
Dog track interests, perennially supportive to Jacksonville-area Republicans, were represented in the donor roll. Florida East Coast Industries ponied up also, as did former Lt. Gov. hopeful Allison DeFoor.
These March donations follow up on strong interest from the political establishment in previous months.
Lobbyists, such as the The Mayernick Group and The Fiorentino Group, were part of a strong $70,000+ January. So too did political committees of Bradley and Cummings, and a cross-section of the Clay County power structure.
State level interest abounded also from the start.
Early donors included Jacksonville Sen. Aaron Bean’s Florida Conservative Alliance, Miami Sen. Manny Diaz’ Better Florida Education, Trilby Sen. Wilton Simpson’s Jobs for Florida, Cape Coral Rep. Dane Eagle’s Conservative Coalition for Florida’s Future and Clearwater Rep. Chris Latvala’s Suncoast Better Government Committee.
February saw more powerbrokers cutting checks, with political committees associated with Sen. Travis Hutson, Rep. Colleen Burton, Rep. Clay Yarborough, and Rep. Ray Rodrigues also donating.
Though Garrison won’t face a primary, he looks likely to face off against perennial Libertarian candidate Ken Willey.
