A.G. Gancarski
The always interesting Jacksonville mayoral race took a turn towards the surreal (not for the last time) this week, with the two Republican candidates using their running prowess in their messaging.
Just days ago, we took a look at Lenny Curry’s yoking of his messaging to his participation on road races, making the point that Jacksonville runners tend to support those who are active in the running community.
Of course, Curry is not the only runner in the Jacksonville mayoral race. The official campaign Twitter of Bill Bishop, the other Republican in the race, tweeted out a “Throwback Thursday” image that told voters that Curry wasn’t the only Republican in shorts and a bib.
Team Curry was less than thrilled with this. In fact, Brian Hughes from Curry’s campaign signaled that his candidate would not be averse to a road race. When asked if Curry would race his opponents, Hughes responded, “Anytime, anyplace. My candidate runs like the wind.”
Hughes’ impromptu challenge, as of now, looks like it won’t be taken up by Curry’s opponents. Bill Bishop demurred, saying “While I think of myself as being in relatively good shape, I don’t pretend to be an avid runner. I fail to see what a test of running has to do with anything anyway. I would much rather engage in a test of mental acuity.”
Alvin Brown’s team, at least for now, is declining to comment.
