Florida Chamber of Commerce backs Jennifer Bradley’s Senate bid

Republican Jennifer Bradley, running to succeed husband Rob Bradley in the Florida Senate, earned a major endorsement Friday morning.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce formally backed her bid, noting she was the only candidate in the race committed to extending liability protections for businesses in the coronavirus era.

“Jennifer is committed to Florida’s future and will work tirelessly to create jobs and move Florida in the right direction,” said Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce. “She is the type of leader that has a firm commitment of driving sound policy and will help continue efforts to relaunch Florida.”

The Chamber also believes that Bradley will work to fix what they describe as a “broken and unfair legal system” in the state.

“We trust that Jennifer will serve as a champion of free enterprise during her time in the Senate and work to fix Florida’s broken and unfair legal system,” added Nick Catroppo, Vice President of Political Operations, Florida Chamber of Commerce. “Her steadfast leadership in the community has proven that her voice is needed in Tallahassee and we look forward to working with her in the Florida Senate.”

“It’s an honor to be endorsed by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. I look forward to working with them to strengthen our business community, grow our economy and ensure that Florida’s business climate continues to be the envy of the nation,” said Bradley, accepting the endorsement. 

The Chamber imprimatur only serves to reinforce already evident structural advantages Bradley has over her opponents.

Through Aug. 13, the last date for which the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections has data, the first-time candidate raised over $506,000 in hard money. She deployed much of that rebuffing a primary challenge from Jason Holifield, a self-funding cattle farmer from Cross City, but retained roughly $160,000 in that final accounting.

Her Democratic opponent in November, Melina Barrett, lacks commensurate resources. At last count, she had roughly $1,100 on hand.

As for the power for of the Chamber’s endorsement, the candidates it backed in Primary Elections went 21-2 this past Tuesday.