St. Johns Tax Collector endorses Kim Kendall in HD 18

Endorsements continue to fly in the Republican Primary in a St. Johns County House district.

St. Johns County Tax Collector Dennis Hollingsworth is backing Kim Kendall in House District 18, offering a counterpoint to endorsements and momentum going the way of her Primary opponent, Nick Primrose.

“Ms. Kendall has a proven record for knowing this district by her tenacious work ethic,” Hollingsworth said. “She has been seen at schools, industry, nonprofit, government, and first responders to learn, listen, and formalize a way to improve her constituents’ lives. I have confidence that Ms. Kendall will represent me and the people in my district well.”

Kendall, the state education chair for the Florida Federation of Republican Women, has also been an air traffic controller and has owned dry cleaners along the way.

Meanwhile, Primrose, who served as Deputy General Counsel for Govs. Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis, also is Chief of Regulatory Compliance at JAXPORT, serves as Chair of the Florida Freight Advisory Committee, and also as a member of the SelectFlorida Board of Directors.

Primrose seems to have the strongest campaign infrastructure in the field. He had roughly $178,000 in his campaign account as of the end of March. His affiliated political committee, Friends of Nick Primrose, had an additional $65,000 on hand.

Kim Kendall, also running in the GOP Primary, had more than $98,000 on hand in her campaign account as of the end of March, a number bolstered by a $50,000 personal loan when she opened the account last year. Friends of Kim Kendall has roughly $47,000 on hand.

St. Augustine’s Keith Clark Matthews has opened a campaign account as a Democrat. But in a district that is 56% Republican and just 19% Democratic, it’s likely the August winner on the GOP side will prevail in November.