Drew Wilson
U.S. Rep. Al Lawson will kick off his reelection campaign next week with a fundraiser in Tallahassee.
The event will be held at the home of Scott and Kay Dick from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 16.
The host committee lists several North Florida elected officials, including state Sen. Loranne Ausley, Reps. Ramon Alexander and Allison Tant, Tallahassee Mayor John Daly, former Sen. Bill Montford and John Thrasher, a former House Speaker and Florida State University President.
Several notable lobbyists and community leaders are also listed, including Ballard Partners founder Brian Ballard, Meenan PA founder Tim Meenan, Rubin Turnbull & Associates managing partner Heather Turnbull, and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Lawson represents Florida’s 5th Congressional District, which runs from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and includes all of Baker, Gadsden, Hamilton and Madison counties as well as parts of Columbia, Duval, Jefferson and Leon.
Through the end of the third quarter, the third-term Democrat had about $235,000 in the bank.
Republican Jon Chuba and Democrat Jonathan Marc have also filed for the seat, but neither have shown any fundraising traction — Chuba has just $2,550 banked and Marc has $0.
While Lawson currently faces little challenge, that could change if new maps make the district more competitive.
If CD 5 remains mostly intact, it will likely remain in Democratic control. Registered Democrats make up 58% of the district’s electorate, compared to a 24% share for Republicans.
The partisan split translated to a 65%-35% win for Lawson in his 2020 reelection bid.
The fundraiser invitation is below.
