Wes Wolfe
After no small amount of speculation, Jacksonville City Councilman Rory Diamond confirmed through Twitter early Wednesday morning that he will not seek the Republican nomination for the newly-drawn seat in Florida’s 4th Congressional District.
“With Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Northeast Florida gained a new congressional seat,” Diamond said in a tweet thread. “Over the last several weeks, I’ve been overwhelmed with support and encouragement both locally and nationally to run for the new Florida 4th. Our team is, even at this moment, confident we have everything to win and represent our community in Washington as a true conservative.
“That said, I will remain at K9s For Warriors and continue to drive what is nothing short of a rocket of success and impact for our American heroes. We are on the verge of becoming the world’s largest Service Dog agency and finally able to reduce our waitlist. Likewise, in the next few weeks, I will accept a commission and be sworn as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer with the Florida Army National Guard and the U. S. Army fulfilling a lifetime aspiration to serve our nation in uniform.”
That commitment, he said, will require time at military facilities outside Florida.
“What’s more, I love representing our Beaches community and have unfinished work making Jacksonville’s the cleanest, most ethical government in the country,” Diamond wrote. “Given these commitments, I am putting my immediate desire to serve in national office aside and will not run for Congress this year.”
The tweets went out shortly before 4:30 a.m., a nod to his early morning with K9s for Warriors, as he was catching a flight to Phoenix to start the Arizona branch of the operation.
So far, the only announced candidate in the newly drawn district is businessman and Navy veteran Erick Aguilar, who was already running against incumbent U.S. Rep. John Rutherford in the Republican Primary under the old district lines.
State Sen. Aaron Bean, who was term-limited out of his powerful Senate position, is taking a hard look at making a congressional run as well.
