Ryan NicolWith Republican Rep. MaryLynn Magar facing term limits in 2020, three well-funded GOP candidates have stepped up to replace her in House District 82.
The Republican primary features a battle between former Rep. Carl Domino, lawyer Rick Kozell and retired U.S. Marine John Snyder.
Kozell previously ran for the seat in Florida’s 18th Congressional District after then-Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy left the seat to mount a U.S. Senate bid. Kozell came up well short in that race.
This cycle, he has been the best fundraiser among the HD 82 field. Kozell has added more than $573,000 between his campaign and his political committee, Rick Kozell for Florida.
That’s more than Domino and Snyder have collected combined.
Those two candidates have not been slouches when it comes to the money game, however. Snyder raised nearly $190,000 and added another $3,100 in loans. That has given him plenty of money to play with ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Domino opted to self-fund his bid, pouring $181,000 of his own money into his campaign, though he spent less than half of that total.
Kozell has spent $530,000 of his available funds. Snyder has burned through more than $186,000.
Snyder currently serves as the vice chairman of the Martin County Republican Party. HD 82 spans parts of Palm Beach and Martin counties, including Jupiter, Indiantown and Hobe Sound.
Domino first won election to the House in 2002. He was term-limited out of House District 83 in 2010.
Domino also mounted a bid for the CD 18 seat in 2016 alongside Kozell. Both lost to Brian Mast, who would go on to win the seat in the general election. Domino placed fourth in the field, while Kozell placed fifth.
Domino sought the seat in the prior cycle as well. He reached the general election in 2014 but lost to Murphy.
The winner of the HD 82 GOP primary will go on to face Democratic candidate Elise Edwards Ackerly. She’s unchallenged on the Democratic side but has raised around only $4,900 so far. The district leans right, with Republicans holding a 19 point voter registration advantage over Democrats.
