Phil Ammann
After building an early lead among absentee and early voters, former Rep. Reggie Fullwood will now officially return to the Florida Capitol for Duval County’s House District 13.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the Jacksonville Democrat captured 57 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Lawrence “Jeff” Jefferson, who took 43 percent.
Fullwood began the night with a lead in early voting — 55 to 45 percent. A majority of ballots — more than 5,800 of the 8,055 total — were cast during the early voting period.
The 9 percent turnout in District 13, a mostly Democratic area that includes northwest Jacksonville, Arlington and San Marco, was low, even for a special election. According to the state Division of Elections, 90,877 active registered voters are in the region.
Fullwood held the seat for two terms and no one had filed to run against him in the November 2014 election. But failure to correctly file paperwork to qualify as a candidate forced a special election and placed his immediate political career in jeopardy.
Back in June, the state disqualified Fullwood — who was running unopposed — after missing the deadline due to a pair of errors by notary publics. The first notary made a mistake on financial disclosure Form 6. A second notary, this one hired by the Florida Democratic Party to rewrite the form, failed to check a required box.
But all of that was behind Fullwood by the time polls closed on Tuesday night.
“I am honored that the people of District 13 have chosen me as their voice in Tallahassee,” said Fullwood. “Hard-working Floridians deserve a fully-funded public education system for their children, a fair wage for a fair day’s work, and access to the highest quality healthcare for themselves and their families. I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work fighting for my community!”
In a statement, Democratic House Leader Mark Pafford and Leader pro tempore Mia Jones welcomed Fullwood in his return to Tallahassee.
“It’s great to have Representative Fullwood back in the Florida House,” Pafford said. “He makes our caucus stronger with his presence and experience. We’re glad he’ll be at the Capitol for the beginning of the legislative session to serve the people of Florida and his district.”
Fulwood raised more than $170,000 for this re-election effort, more than 20 times the $7,000 raised by Jefferson.
