A.G. Gancarski
For the second consecutive election cycle, U.S. Rep. John Rutherford has dispatched a familiar challenger.
The Jacksonville Republican is well ahead of challenger Mara Macie, leading 67% to 33% in Florida’s 5th Congressional District with more than 95% of the vote in.
The outcome is not a surprise given that Rutherford is one of the most established political commodities in Northeast Florida. The fourth-term Congressman previously was Jacksonville Sheriff from 2003 to 2015.
In addition to having an established record in office, the Congressman also enjoyed a prohibitive fundraising advantage. And he didn’t have to spend that much. He carried more than $475,000 cash on hand at the end of July, while Macie had just over $16,000.
This was a rematch from 2022, when Macie got 18% of the vote and Rutherford garnered 66%.
The Primary winner will face a Democrat and a write-in in November.
Democrat Jay McGovern had no Primary opposition and will advance to November.
McGovern has yet to record fundraising; he has run for office before, albeit without electoral success.
In 2016, he lost the Democratic Primary in the old Florida’s 6th Congressional District, where he would have challenged Ron DeSantis if he had won that August. In 2020, he lost a Primary race for the Florida House to a candidate who lost to state Rep. Wyman Duggan.
Repeat candidate Gary Koniz is also running, this time as a write-in.
The district, which includes some of Duval and St. Johns Counties, is designed for a Republican win, with more than 250,000 GOP registrants and fewer than 145,000 Democrats.
