Jacob Ogles
Winter Park Republican Chuck Nadd has suspended his campaign for Florida Agriculture Commissioner.
The move came a day after Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed Senate President Wilton Simpson for the post.
“The outpouring of support for our campaign has made for an extraordinary past three weeks,” Nadd wrote in a handwritten message posted online. “While (wife) Shannon and I have decided to suspend our campaign based on Governor DeSantis’ decision to unite the GOP, we remain committed as ever to fighting for clean water, our conservative values, and the Florida freedoms that he has championed.
“Thank you to everyone who has so passionately fought alongside us.”
Nadd formally filed for the post earlier this month, and his candidacy has been rumored for weeks prior to that. He had hoped to leverage tension between DeSantis and Simpson during the Regular Session over issues from water management to redistricting. But days after the Legislature approved a congressional map crafted by DeSantis’ staff, the Governor made clear he’s standing with Simpson.
“For Commissioner of Agriculture, I am supporting Wilton Simpson, who has helped pass major reform for election integrity, choice in education, Big Tech censorship and law enforcement recruitment,” DeSantis said in a statement Monday.
Nadd had highly criticized Simpson, an egg farmer by trade, for his ties to agriculture and sugar farmers.
He always tied his messaging closely to the Governor, telling Florida Politics, “We need more Ron DeSantis Republicans in Tallahassee.”
Simpson still faces Richard Olle and James Shaw in a Republican Primary and Democrat Ryan Morales in a likely General Election matchup. But he has raised far more from his perch as presiding officer of a legislative chamber than any of his opponents.
In addition to raising almost $1.4 million for the race in his candidate account, he controls several political committees. As of the close of March, he sat on $13.5 million in cash on hand for the race. Nadd never filed a monthly report before folding his campaign.
