Jason Fischer labels himself ‘conservative fighter’ in first TV ad in CD 4 race

Even as courts ultimately decide whether Florida’s new 4th Congressional District will survive as the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis would prefer, a Republican is already up on television in the district touting ties to the Governor and a certain former President.

State Rep. Jason Fischer is featured in a new 30-second spot (“Tested and trusted”) from the “Florida Trust PAC.” The ad proclaims Fischer a “conservative fighter,” walking in lockstep with the Governor on a variety of issues seemingly important in a GOP Primary.

The ad started running Wednesday on WJXT in Jacksonville.

“Fischer said ‘no’ to gun control,” proclaims a throaty alpha-male voice in the spot. “He said ‘no’ to defunding the police. He stood with Gov. DeSantis to ban sanctuary cities and keep critical race theory out of the classrooms.”

The ad also yokes Fischer to former President Donald Trump, saying that in his capacity as an elector from Florida voting for the former President, he “fought back against those trying to steal the election from President Trump.”

The Fischer ad is the latest indication the GOP Primary race will be expensive and run to the right. Both he and another candidate, Navy veteran Erick Aguilar, have over a million dollars to spend on the race.

CD 4 was drawn to replace Florida’s 5th Congressional District, a minority access map that sprawls from Central Duval all the way to Gadsden County. U.S. Rep. Al Lawson was elected three times in this district, which Gov. DeSantis worked to eliminate during redistricting this year. Should his map ultimately prevail in the courts, it will take Jacksonville’s Democratic voters and place them in a district likely to be controlled by the preferences of Republicans from Clay and Nassau counties.

Democrats are also running, including Lawson district aide Tony Hill, a former state Senator running with Lawson’s blessing. LaShonda Holloway, who ran previously and lost in the Democratic Primary to Lawson, is an active candidate again in 2022.