A.G. Gancarski
Republican Jessica Baker continued her strong fundraising in March, as she seeks the party’s nomination in a new Southside Jacksonville district.
Baker, running in House District 17, has about $445,000 on hand between her campaign account and her political committee, Friends of Jessica Baker. She raised $18,550 in March between the two accounts.
Notable contributors last month included three accounts linked with state Sen. Travis Hutson. Those accounts are the Hutson Companies and two committees he controls: Sunshine State Conservatives and the First Coast Business Foundation.
March offered more evidence, were it needed, of establishment coalescence behind Baker, currently an Assistant State Attorney in Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit, which is just south of Duval County.
U.S. Reps. John Rutherford and Michael Waltz, Senate President Wilton Simpson, state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, state Reps. Wyman Duggan and Jason Fischer, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams and former House Speaker John Thrasher all were among the first waves of supporters rolled out by the Baker campaign.
The district will have a Republican advantage, if recent elections mean anything. Both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis would have carried the district in their most recent elections, despite both of them failing to carry Duval County at large against their Democratic opponents.
As things stand, Baker could face both Primary and General Election competition for the new House seat, though she seems to have the structural advantage over competition thus far.
Another Republican, political newcomer Jordan Wells, has been a filed candidate since December 2021, but has yet to report fundraising. It is uncertain if his campaign will ultimately be viable.
Democrat Michael Morgan Anderson filed to run this month, which means that his debut campaign finance report will be due on or before May 10, encompassing April activity.
