Re-election path clears for future Speaker Sam Garrison

Sam Garrison is spending big money, but not on his own campaign.

A candidate who had previously filed to challenge Rep. Sam Garrison in the 2022 Republican Primary in House District 11 will not be running after all.

Nassau County’s Bo Wade Hodges had opened a campaign account last year for a race in HD 11 when the district encompassed his county and part of Duval. Redistricting changed the map and the numbers, moving HD 11 to Clay County.

Hodges raised a little more than $300, and told Florida Politics Monday that he had no intention of running in the newly drawn district.

Barring a redesignation from another race or a late-filing candidate, this should clear the path to Tallahassee for Garrison for at least the next two years.

One potential hurdle remains though. There is a Democratic candidate filed in House District 18, which Garrison represented on the previous map. Cornelius Jones of Orange Park has raised over $3,000 for the campaign and could conceivably qualify and redesignate to the correct district. Calls to his number could not be completed Monday morning, so his plans remain a mystery.

Garrison’s future, meanwhile, seems more certain.

As a member of House leadership, his fundraising has been robust. His political committee, which is called Honest Leadership, has more than $725,000 on hand. That money can be deployed as needed to political allies and the rare competitive race as House Republicans attempt to secure a supermajority.

Garrison also has roughly $106,000 in his campaign account. He is expected to be House Speaker starting in 2026 if Republicans maintain their current legislative majority and if he is re-elected.

Assuming those metrics are met, he will become Speaker just two years after Rep. Paul Renner of Palm Coast ends his Speakership.

Garrison represented HD 18 from 2020 through this year. He won the General Election with more than 67% of the vote, succeeding former Rep. Travis Cummings, who was himself a powerful legislator.

HD 18 is drawn to elect Republicans. In their most recent elections, Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis were the choice of more than 65% of voters.