Wes Wolfe
The newly drawn Florida’s 4th Congressional District has its first official candidate, and one that was running before the district’s lines received so much attention from the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in their recent redistricting process.
Navy veteran and businessman Erick Aguilar is continuing his effort that began with another Primary challenge to incumbent Rep. John Rutherford under the old CD 4 lines.
“I retired from the Navy in 2016. I thought I was going to spend that time with my kids,” Aguilar said in a statement. “Then I started seeing that it wasn’t the country that I defended. Still today, we need to have more action and leadership. I understand things get political, I understand things happen, but we need to see results. I am an outsider and a leader.”
Aguilar ran for the GOP nomination in CD 4 two years ago, but didn’t find much success against Rutherford, a well-known former Jacksonville Sheriff. Aguilar claimed 19.8% of the vote in the 2020 Primary, versus Rutherford’s 80.2%.
He closed the last campaign finance quarterly reporting period with more than $963,000 raised over the cycle so far, and more than $318,000 over the quarter. Most of his spending came during the first quarter of this year — $103,404.83 of his overall $190,845.02. The campaign also has around $345,000 in debt.
Aguilar had more than $812,000 in the bank as of April 15.
“I am a husband and a father to young children. It is imperative that we work hard now to ensure a bright and prosperous future for the next generation,” Aguilar said.
“Whether it is in the classroom and being a part of the conversation surrounding their curriculum, pushing back against ‘woke’ ideologies, or working with other leaders to protect them from threats abroad, it is up to us to keep the American Dream alive for them. I look forward to continuing to cast my vision and share my thoughts with all of the new constituents of District 4 over the next several months.”
