Ron DeSantis wades into Jacksonville Special Election with robocall, endorsement

Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting involved in Jacksonville municipal elections, offering a strong endorsement the day before the city’s Special Election.

The Governor’s last-minute boost comes in a robocall Monday supporting Republican Nick Howland, who is seeking the City Council seat vacated last year by the late Tommy Hazouri.

In the script obtained by Florida Politics, DeSantis contrasts Howland, a law-and-order Republican, with his opponent, “radical leftist” Tracye Polson.

“Hello, this is Gov. Ron DeSantis calling on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida to remind you to vote tomorrow in the Special Election for Nick Howland. Nick is a Navy veteran and businessman who — like me — is a strong supporter of the rule of law and public safety. Nick supports our brave law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep us safe. Nick’s opponent is a radical leftist who openly supports defunding the police and taking officers off the streets! The polls are open tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. It’s important that you take the time to vote in this election — it will be a very close race, and every vote counts. Thank you!”

DeSantis’ endorsement comes after all three major Democratic gubernatorial candidates came to town for Polson.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist visited Jacksonville last week, with Sen. Annette Taddeo visiting on Saturday and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Sunday.

The high-profile campaign cameos from DeSantis and the Democrats serve as a capstone on what has become an expensive race.

Both candidates reported over $800,000 in combined fundraising through the end of January.

February numbers will be available around Mar. 10, weeks after Tuesday’s General Election.

Turnout is nearing 12%, with Democrats holding a nearly 4,000 vote edge going into Election Day.

So far, Democrats make up 47% of the turnout and Republicans 42%, with NPA voters making up the difference.

With in-person voting Tuesday, Republicans will likely close the gap.