Peter Schorsch
Berny Jacques is prepping for one of his first major fundraisers of the 2022 election cycle next week. As he does, he may want to question the strategic impacts of his friendships.
Jacques is running for House District 66 in an open race to replace Rep. Nick DiCeglie, who is skipping a reelection bid to instead run for state Senate.
I like the Berny, both personally and professionally. But he’s facing a potentially grueling primary against Alen Tomczak, a technical lead at Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base.
Tomczack tapped Enwright Rimes, a consulting firm with whom I’ve maintained a close relationship over the years. The firm boasts loads of connections in Pinellas County and has a track record of working with some of the best politicians in the region. The tout sheet includes Sen. Jeff Brandes, who is making a name for himself this year as the new Jack Latvala, a check on some of the more extreme whims among Florida’s GOP, and St. Petersburg City Council member Ed Montanari, an all around loved guy who boasts respect on both sides of the aisle.
For now, I’m neutral on the HD 66 race, not that my weighing in would matter all that much in a Republican primary. Still I’m not sure I can stay on the sidelines if Jacques continues to hob nob with Anthony Sabatini, who is one of the most universally despised Republicans in the state and who probably leads the burn book in the Florida Legislature.
Sabatini’s stances, and even more so, his rhetoric, are vile. He began his career in legislative politics with an almost immediate scandal, you know, the one that prompted me to forever refer to him as Rep. Blackface.
The list of Sabatini-led indiscretions is too long to list, but over the past year he has loaded up on any number of things to choose from. He went full-on coronavirus denier and launched a dangerous attack on mask wearing that included challenging orders in several cities, none of which were successful.
He has threatened to shoot protesters. He continues to stand by his friend, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a suspected sex trafficker, tweeting even after mounting evidence that Gaetz is “a heroic conservative” and a “good man.” Um, OK.
The Establishment is attempting to DESTROY my friend, Matt Gaetz. Matt is a heroic conservative, a direct threat to the Swamp, and a good man.
Sign my petition to stand with Matt Gaetz! https://t.co/JuDY0bbkHy
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) April 13, 2021
He called Tuesday’s much needed justice that came when Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges against him related to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis — verdicts that received praise on both sides of the aisle and from within the law enforcement community that wants nothing to do with defending an obvious murderer, even if it means breaking the blue wall of silence — “mob justice.”
Mob justice
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) April 20, 2021
The tweet prompted one person to call him sub-human, and then another to say that’s “mean to sub-humans.” I don’t know how much more clear it can get than that.
Yet Jacques and Sabatini are political allies. Sabatini has tweeted support for Jacques in the past, and Jacques clearly wants it.
He spoke at a campaign fundraiser for Sabatini’s ill-advised congressional campaign in Pinellas County in late March, tweeting that “it was great welcoming a true conservative fighter to Pinellas today” and asking voters to “help him get to Congress.
It was great welcoming a true conservative fighter to Pinellas today! Please follow @AnthonySabatini and help him get to Congress! pic.twitter.com/MWVWK5z3z9
— Berny Jacques (@bernyjacques) March 28, 2021
In early March, Jacques joined Sabatini in his home Lake County district to help launch Sabatini’s congressional campaign, announcing his support referring to Sabatini as his “friend.”
Today I had the pleasure of joining my friend @AnthonySabatini in Lake County as he launched his campaign for Congress! He’s a conservative fighter for Florida! pic.twitter.com/z7H9ZLs343
— Berny Jacques (@bernyjacques) March 8, 2021
And did anyone notice Terry Power at the Pinellas fundraiser? Remember him? He’s the guy who went through the divorce from hell, became one of the leading advocates to dismantle Florida’s permanent alimony structure (only to have the group later give him the boot), and ultimately became a fugitive when he refused to follow court ordered alimony requirements.
At this point, it’s safe to wonder if Jacques really knows about the people he’s aligning himself with.
While tying himself to the likes of Sabatini might have some political advantages, particularly among the still strong Trump-wing of the GOP, having a strong character says more. It’s high time Jacques distances himself from poison pill alliances, especially Sabatini.
If he keeps popping up on social media glad-handing with Sabatini, it might bode well in a Primary Election where going to the extreme matters. But let’s just take a look at Laura Loomer to demonstrate how extremism works in a General Election.
The firebrand conservative, buoyed by a high-profile nod from then-President Donald Trump, garnered 43% of the vote in a crowded six-person Primary. But she crumbled in the General Election, collecting just 39% of the vote in her attempt to oust U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel in Florida’s 21st Congressional District.
While it might not be a direct comparison — CD 21 is deep blue while HD 66 leans red — voters have shown little interest in General Election contests in supporting far right candidates.
Democrats will no doubt use every single negative from Sabatini’s past to paint Jacques with the same brush. It’s hard to deflect the guilt-by-association claims when your Twitter feed is chock-full of photo ops with arguably the most hated Republican in Tallahassee.
