A.G. Gancarski
Let’s go, Brandon? Not in 2022, apparently.
On Tuesday, state House candidate Adam Brandon formally folded his campaign, and endorsed a colleague at the Rogers Towers law firm: Rep. Wyman Duggan, who will represent the new House District 12 in southern Duval County.
Brandon originally filed in HD 12 before redistricting. He moved his campaign to House District 16 subsequently, but all of it apparently was a dry run, with no clear path for him this cycle.
“Wyman does an excellent job serving our community in the Legislature and I am thrilled to lend him my support for the new House District 12. While my campaign for the House this year is ending, I am proud of our broad coalition of supporters, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds,” Brandon said.
“I’d like to thank my friend Adam Brandon for his support and endorsement,” Duggan added. “Adam is a fellow veteran, trusted colleague and committed conservative who I look forward to supporting in the years ahead.”
Duggan was first elected in the former House District 15 in 2018. He can serve in the House until 2026 if re-elected.
He is well-positioned financially for the campaign ahead. At the end of March, Duggan had roughly $87,000 in his campaign account, and another $100,000 in his political committee, Citizens for Building Florida’s Future.
The new Duggan district is more favorable terrain for the candidate than his old district, one where Democrats started to compete in recent cycles. Duggan’s 2018 race against Tracye Polson was among the most expensive state House races in local history. Both Polson and 2020 nominee Tammyette Thomas ran competitive campaigns, leading to speculation that Jacksonville could support a third Democratic House seat.
But the new district isn’t going to accomplish that. Both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis carried these voters in their most recent General Elections, winning the district each with more than 52% of the vote.
