Jack Martin, former Primary foe, backs Gus Bilirakis for re-election to CD 12

Gus Bilirakis opens shop in some new territory.

Jack Martin, a pastor in Hernando County who in 2022 challenged U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis in the GOP Primary, has now endorsed his former opponent in Florida’s 12th Congressional District.

“My friend, Pastor Jack Martin, is a patriot who understands that our great Republic is at a critical crossroads. He knows how important it is for Republicans to retain, and build on, the majority in the House of Representatives,” Bilirakis said. “And while he was my Primary opponent in 2022, he has gratefully followed President (Donald) Trump’s lead and has endorsed my re-election bid for U.S. Congress.”

While Martin’s endorsement comes as a sort of second choice — he previously endorsed James Judge in the Primary before Judge switched races to run against U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th Congressional District — Bilirakis said he was humbled by Martin’s trust in him.

“He has agreed to work with me to awaken our faith based community in a way to increase participation in the electoral process. Jack knows that we share the same values with Hernando County church communities and they are critical to ensuring Republicans get elected, not only in my race, but up and down the ballot from President Trump to the school board,” Bilirakis said.

“Jack’s leadership with this constituency will make America great again. I can’t wait to work with him!”

Martin had previously intended to run for the seat again, but backed out last year.

No Democrat has filed or qualified for the race, setting up an open GOP Primary between Bilirakis and challenger Hank Dunlap. Bilirakis is expected to sail to an easy victory. Dunlap has raised less than $9,000 for his race, a paltry sum for congressional races that often soar into seven figures. Bilirakis, meanwhile, has raised more than $1 million, and has nearly $378,000 still on hand.

Martin’s endorsements follow that of Trump, as well as U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz and Anna Paulina Luna.

Since winning his seat in Washington in 2006, succeeding father and former U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, Gus Bilirakis has focused on bread-and-butter issues that impact his constituents’ lives.

In particular, Bilirakis has fought alongside Democrats and Republicans in the region on behalf of area veterans. He celebrated some of that progress earlier this year at the ribbon-cutting for the new James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital bed tower in Tampa. He shared the stage with a Democrat in Tampa Bay’s congressional delegation.

The Center for Effective Lawmaking last year rated Bilirakis the most effective Republican member of the House among the Florida delegation. The Lugar Center, which tracks how often lawmakers work together across the aisle, scored Bilirakis as the most bipartisan member of Florida’s congressional delegation in the last Congress. He was the 27th highest scoring member nationwide in the 435-member chamber.