Kim Daniels’ opponent withdraws from HD 14 race

A Libertarian who opened a campaign account to challenge Democratic Rep. Kim Daniels in Duval County’s House District 14 has withdrawn from the race.

This means that as of now, Daniels is running unopposed.

Ronald Robison opened a campaign account earlier this year, saying at the time that he saw this run as a way to continue the “momentum” he started when he ran for City Council in 2023 — an election where his 131 votes in that election were good for just 1% of the vote.

Upon filing, he said he saw the campaign as a way to “bring a choice” to the district and “consider the minority, which is the individual.”

It doesn’t appear the choice will be there next November, however, with a second straight General Election with no competition.

Back in 2022, Daniels’ write-in opponent, Patrice Wynette Jones, withdrew from the race. Her main effect as a candidate was to close the Democratic Primary for what was an open seat, ensuring that Republicans and NPA voters could not participate in what ended up being the decisive election in the heavily Democratic district.

Daniels had 48% of the vote in August, dominating the competition. Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis had 33% of the vote. Mincy Pollock had just 15%, and Iris Hinton just 13%.

Daniels had previously represented the district under a different map, losing the 2020 Primary to current Rep. Angie Nixon, who represents HD 13 after redistricting last year.

In 2022 as in previous races, Daniels had bipartisan help, via a political committee. The Florida Federation for Children PAC, which is chaired by Step Up for Students founder John Kirtley, sent anti-Dennis mail during the stretch run of the Primary.

The mail was sent out after a $23,000 donation from the Friends of Ron DeSantis political committee on July 28. In August, the PAC got a $50,000 donation from Conservatives for Principled Leadership, a committee associated with Speaker-designate Paul Renner.

In 2020, statewide Democrats purged her from the Legislature.

Daniels, an evangelist by vocation, found herself on the other side of the culture wars from most of her caucus, as she backed socially conservative legislation, including a bill requiring parental consent for reproductive decisions. In a conversation during the 2020 Legislative Session with Florida Politics, she expressed frustration with the intraparty challenges, saying she voted with her party most of the time.

“Seems like 89% is not enough,” she said, vowing not to be “stroked” or “bullied” by Democrats, before making what turned out to be a fateful statement.

“I’m standing my ground. I have a right to be here. If they don’t like it, get a good opponent and send me home,” Daniels said.

Before going to Tallahassee, Daniels served one term as an at-large Jacksonville City Council member from 2011 to 2015, losing her reelection bid to now-former Republican Anna Brosche, with Democrats and independents driving Brosche’s margin in protest of Daniels’ brand of social conservatism.

In a twist, Brosche is now a Democrat, and is Jacksonville’s Chief Financial Officer, appointed by new Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan.