Jacob Ogles
Florida’s rural counties don’t have drive-up test sites. Positive cases of COVID-19 get counted by the dozens, not hundreds or thousands. But effects of a pandemic can be seen in empty streets and closed storefronts.
The candidates running in House District 55 have not forgotten those rural residents in Glades, Highlands, Okeechobee and rural St. Lucie counties. Citrus rancher Ned Hancock and attorney Kaylee Tuck will fight for their votes in the lead-up to an Aug. 18 primary. But that feels far off in a world where the spread of a novel coronavirus changes life each day.
“This is having a significant effect on the economy,” said Hancock, who entered the race last June.
He heads up a number of citrus farming locations in the Heartland, essential businesses where workers still pick crops to keep Florida fed.
He’s had four employees on quarantine at various points, though none to date have tested positive for the virus. One had strep throat and another simply called in with a fever. One employee in the medical field was treating a suspected case that ultimately came back negative.
It’s these stories that have gripped Hancock’s attention in recent weeks more than any political dialogue.
Tuck has contacted people about a variety of issues using digital campaign outreach. Plenty of the constituents in District 55 remain connected to the world through their smartphones. But she worries how the internet infrastructure in a famously underserved area impacts families with students now learning from home.
“One of my worries is access for students who have one or two siblings using the internet and you have two parents working at home,” she said. “We don’t have fiber optic access at homes and that access is something that needs to be looked at.”
As for the campaign, both candidates feel grateful they jumped into the race for an open contest early. Tuck qualified by petition in November. Hancock since has done the same.
In March, Tuck managed to raise $5,035 for the race even as she had to cancel a fundraiser. She’s raised $96,602 so far, with $57,946 on hand as of the start of April.
Hancock raised $3,650 in March and $196,947 since entering the race. He started the month with $154,645 in the bank.
Democrat Tony Munnings has yet to raise any money for the race.
But both expect they will raise less than they expected as a result of the pandemic. That will mean some creative campaigning in a district that’s not wealthy, but where it can be expensive to run. The broad area makes it hard to effectively buy TV, and a range of small print media serves a district that spans four counties.
“We had a very good grassroots campaign going while we could,” Tuck said.
Hancock has prided himself on money coming from those who have an interest in the district, and he doesn’t feel right placing calls for money now. He’s mostly concerned for restaurants, retail and all the other businesses in the region.
“We’re an economy made up of small businesses,” he said. “GM or Ford doesn’t have a factory that’s still going down the street. We just have a larger number of small businesses, who are all struggling to be honest with you,” he said. “And that before you throw a virus that’s very contagious into this.”
