Phil Ammann
State Rep. Ronald “Doc” Renuart brought out a wave of good news, including an extensive list of North Florida elected officials endorsing him in the race for Senate District 6. At the same time, he pronounced the launch of a new television ad directly responding to criticism of the past few weeks.
Among the endorsements for the Ponte Vedra Beach Republican: State Reps. Charles Van Zant and Charles McBurney; City of St. Augustine Beach Mayor Andrea Samuels, Police Chief Rob Hardwick, City Commissioner Undine George; City of St. Augustine Vice Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline and St. Johns County Airport Authority Suzanne Green. Also supporting Renuart are City of Ormond Beach Commissioners Troy Kent and Bill Partington; Putnam County Commissioner Larry Harvey; Volusia County Commissioner Pat Patterson and Capt. Dan McCarthy, U.S. Navy (Ret).
“It is an honor to have the support of so many leaders in the community,” Renuart said in a statement. “Each of these men and women have dedicated themselves to making our community a better place and to have them behind me is humbling and uplifting.”
In his latest 30-second spot, Renuart directly combats the “misleading and dishonest attacks” coming in recent weeks from the committees supporting his main opponent, state Rep. Travis Hutson. It hits airwaves across the district starting Monday.
Concluding the statement, Renuart talks about an op-ed column Friday from Ron Littlepage of the Florida Times-Union, who spoke of the contentious District 6 race, particularly of the “ridiculousness” of ads currently bashing Renuart. Littlepage called them “laughable” and “a dumber ad may come along, but this one is going to be hard to beat.”
Renuart faces Hutson and Dennis McDonald in the GOP primary Jan. 27 to replace former state Sen. John Thrasher, who left the Senate in November to become Florida State University president. The winner faces Democrat David Cox in the general election on April 7.
