A.G. Gancarski
A repeat candidate for Congress is presenting her name to voters again in 2024.
LaShonda “L.J.” Holloway has qualified with the Division of Elections to run in Florida’s 4th Congressional District.
She will take on the man who defeated her by more than 20 points two years ago in the General Election: Fernandina Beach’s Aaron Bean.
“Given Bean’s record coupled with Reproductive Rights (Amendment 4) and The decriminalization of Marijuana (Amendment 4) on the ballot more people are engaged and I am hopeful that people like me who keep their pulse on the people and want to Defend our Democracy will VOTE L.J. Holloway for a better day,” Holloway said in a text message Monday.
“More importantly, WE NEED PEOPLE who understand that a fair living wage, affordable housing, access to health care, social security and fighting for Voting Rights are issues that the REPRESENTATIVE in the Fourth Congressional District should fight for and I am seeking to represent these interests FOR THE PEOPLE.”
Holloway is currently alone in the Democratic field.
In 2022, Holloway narrowly defeated former state Sen. Tony Hill in a Primary. This came after the seat was remapped from a minority access configuration spanning areas from Jacksonville to Tallahassee to a more compact district, with Democratic areas in Jacksonville deliberately overwhelmed by Republican vote sinks in Nassau and Clay County.
Holloway’s performance has improved over time.
In 2020, she finished in third place in an unsuccessful Primary challenge to former Congressman Al Lawson, receiving less than 19% of the vote in the former Florida’s 5th Congressional District. In 2016, she got just over 13%.
Holloway will face structural hurdles yet again in going against Bean, a former state lawmaker who ended March with more than $538,000 cash on hand, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. At this writing, she does not have a campaign account federally, suggesting she hasn’t raised much money, if any.
Holloway attended Howard University, worked for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, before coming to Jacksonville and graduating from Edward Waters University with magna cum laude honors. She got her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin School of Law, where she received the Martin Luther King Award.
She returned to Washington for a second stint at the EPA, a period working with then-U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, and a period as Director in the Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances in the District of Columbia.
12 comments
Dont Say FLA
April 22, 2024 at 11:02 am
So many polls about candidates and who do like better on this and that and the other, yet no polls about “who you gonna vote for and why?” Y’know why? Because if that were asked, the news would have nothing to report through November.
This is the only poll that matters:
Question: Who you gonna vote for and why?
~80% of answers:
“Whichever candidate claims they will work to undo what Trump’s SCOTUS did re Roe, and the reason why is that women are people too.”
~20% of answers: Whoever claims they will work to bring about Rapture, and the reason why is I am an adult who didn’t take the lessons of the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, and I never realized they didn’t have medical examiners back in 35AD that could declare somebody dead versus just unconscious and/or in a coma such that when they got better and woke up a few days later that was a miracle despite them then dying from infection
Showing Up
April 22, 2024 at 2:41 pm
Holloway is a smart and tough candidate but there is not enough party support and piss poor voter turnout in N FLA. I say it’s not “Who you gonna vote for and why” but “are you going to actually show up” that determines the outcomes. Because if the entire population of registered voters showed up, things would look “different”. But that just doesn’t (usually) happen. Maybe this year lol. Maybe. As for news reporting, if it wasn’t for Fla Pol so many candidates wouldn’t even get foot start in earned media.. It’s important they keep reporting and I appreciate it.
Annie
April 22, 2024 at 12:00 pm
hello my self
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April 22, 2024 at 12:02 pm
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Gary McManus
April 22, 2024 at 12:13 pm
Lashonda Holloway is not alone in the field of Democratic candidates. Please see my web site.
Respectfully,
Gary McManus
LaShonda “L.J.” Holloway
April 22, 2024 at 5:20 pm
As the only woman in the race, it’s no secret that I believe in a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body, but I also believe that we must decriminalize recreational marijuana.
Furthermore, as a grassroots Candidate I am PROUD of the 108,000+ VOTES we earned in 2022. There is no question that I am of the People and #ForThePeople. I am a fourth (4th generation Jacksonville native) with Federal experience. So, let the record reflect that I run because everyone in the Fourth Congressional District deserves Representation.
Moreover, I wholeheartedly believe in “Liberty and Justice for All” but more importantly, our Democracy is at a stake and campaigns co$t. So, consider a Campaign Contribution of $5 to purchase a Sign to SUPPORT this People powered Campaign. Feel free to Visit our website or donate via CASH APP ($LJ4Congress) or PayPal and put your name and occupation for reporting purposes.=lj=
MH/Duuuval
April 22, 2024 at 7:54 pm
Bottom line: Dee gerrymandered this district to give a numerical advantage to MAGAs. Bean could get beaten if all the MAGA women in the district pulled a contemporary Lysistrata at the polls.
It's Complicated
April 23, 2024 at 1:05 pm
FL-4 is a *R+6 performing district, AND Bean defeated Holloway by 20 points in 2022. Bean will be able to raise a poop-pot of money, and is an energetic and effective campaigner. The odds of her success are low.
*Cook Partisan Voting Index (based upon how the district voter have performed in recent elections)
MH/Duuuval
April 23, 2024 at 2:42 pm
Fair enough, but Bean follows the wind and it has been blowing hard from MAGAland and no amount of last-minute maneuvering by Bean will divest him of the odor of Trump’s stank on a woman’s right to choose.
It's Complicated
April 23, 2024 at 4:14 pm
A couple of things. Endearing MAGA voters may actually strengthen Bean’s position with base voters in that district. Bean’s pro-life position is far stronger than Trump’s, which has softened recently, with Trump doing the proverbial ‘wet the finger, see which way the wind is blowing’ thing at the moment. Trump is damaging himself with pro-life voters by doing that, too.
Not sure how it is with Congressional races in terms of fundraising (because it is a significantly different pool of money and interests), but in Florida House & Senate races across the state (with all the leadership funds and PACS), Republicans are currently out-raising Democrats at about 25:1 for the 2024 Election Cycle. Hard to imagine Holloway will be able to raise big bucks for a long-shot race.
MH/Duuuval
April 23, 2024 at 8:21 pm
Here’s the thing: Bean was more or less reasonable in the Florida Legislature, but has moved to the edge of the right-wing universe since going to Congress. Today’s Bean doesn’t really have a profile to appeal to ANYONE except MAGAs — and just maybe there is an opportunity for the women of the area to beat him (since many are educated.)
MH/Duuuval
April 23, 2024 at 10:17 pm
Bean’s House tenure is ill-gotten, the rancid fruit of Dee’s crude gerrymander — which has yet to have its day in court due to the MAGA foot- and knuckle-dragging.