A.G. Gancarski
With incumbent Rep. Angie Nixon moving from House District 14 to House District 13 in the latest redistricting process, two Democrats have emerged to run for the open seat in HD 14.
However, momentum has been slow for both Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis and Mincy Pollock, a previous City Council candidate now trying to go to Tallahassee. And March did not catalyze either campaign.
Dennis raised just $4,200 last month, all of it in hard money. He did not receive any contributions to his political committee, Forward Progress. He actually finished the month in the red, spending nearly $5,700, and he has a little more than $50,000 on hand.
Leading Dennis donors for the month include the Dragon’s Vape Shop, which donated the maximum $1,000 to his campaign. Former Jacksonville General Counsel Jason Gabriel also contributed to Dennis’ effort.
Dennis will benefit from the backing of both Rep. Nixon and the outgoing Representative from HD 13, friend and ally Rep. Tracie Davis. But thus far, the big checks have not flowed to him as expected.
Dennis’ fundraising, while lackluster, is still better than that of his opponent, who like Dennis spent more than he raised in March.
Pollock added in March $2,650 in hard money ($1,000 of that from a family member) and nothing through his political committee, All Things Common. Meanwhile, he spent nearly $3,900 last month. He has roughly $27,000 on hand at this writing.
HD 14 encompasses territory in Northwest Duval County, and one interesting wrinkle in this current Primary field is that neither candidate lives in the district. Pollock lives in the 32258 zip code in southern Duval County, which would put him in the new House District 17, a Republican-leaning district. Dennis lives in the Argyle Forest area, and if he was running where he currently lives, it would be in the new House District 12, another Republican stronghold.
A third candidate, La’Ciara Masline, is running as a no party affiliation candidate, and were she to qualify for the ballot, the Democratic Primary between Dennis and Pollock would be closed.
Masline does not even disclose her address on her filing with the state, and has reported raising just $61.57 thus far. Her treasurer is based in Tennessee and is linked to an outfit called the Kingdom Conservative Party.
“The Kingdom Conservative Party’s mandate is to advance the Kingdom of God by reclaiming America’s Identity and purpose. We must understand that with freedom comes responsibility. Christians can no longer depend on a two-party system and settle for the lesser of two evils. We can’t hold ourselves hostage with fear of splitting a party and losing to the enemy,” that party’s web page reads.
