A.G. Gancarski
A durable political veteran is seeking another stint in office.
Former state Rep. Kimberly Daniels, who represented House District 14 from 2016 to 2020, filed for the Jacksonville City Council in the 2023 election, as first noticed by the Florida Times-Union’s Nate Monroe.
Daniels, a socially conservative Democrat, exorcist, and minister described as the “Demonbuster,” previously served on the City Council as an at-large member. She served one term citywide and was defeated in reelection.
Daniels has filed to run in District 10, where one of her closest political allies, former Councilman Reggie Brown, once served. Brown is out of office.
Incumbent Democrat Brenda Priestly Jackson is going to run at-large, the Times-Union reported. This leaves an open seat and a veteran politician staking claim.
Daniels is running as a Democrat, a move worth noting as she lost in the primary last year to Rep. Angie Nixon. Nixon, who had a lot of mainstream Democratic support against the iconoclastic Daniels, seemed by some to represent the repudiation of the Daniels brand.
But clearly, that wasn’t the case.
Even after losing to Nixon, Daniels suggested her political future wasn’t over.
“I’m not finished in the political arena,” the two-term lawmaker wrote on Facebook after her loss. But she’s “tired of struggling with Democrats.”
Daniels, who lost by roughly 20% in a closed Democratic primary, spoke to her positions that roiled liberal elements of the caucus.
“I made the statement, and I told those in the Democratic Party who had such a problem with me standing for things of righteousness, they had problems with me saying marriage is between a man and a woman, they had problems with me standing for the sanctity of life,” Daniels said.
“I told my haters and my enemies in Tallahassee that if you don’t like me, put someone in the race and let them take the position, and that’s what happened,” she added.
However, there is “life after a loss,” Daniels said in August.
“The last time I lost my race for the City Council, I ended up in the House of Representatives. Where is God taking me now?”
Republicans liked her in Tallahassee, and they may like her as she makes another run at Council.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce, which backed Daniels in 2020 as previously, has called her the most pro-business Democrat in the Florida Legislature.
Political committees backed by legislative heavyweights in the Republican caucus, including House budget chair Travis Cummings and future House Speaker Paul Renner, likewise backed the incumbent in her intraparty battle.
