Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2017

With the inauguration of President Donald Trump on Friday morning, it was predictable that Northeast Florida pols would post thoughts on the event. Some thoughts were sanguine, such as those from Mayor Lenny Curry and former State Rep. Lake Ray. “It’s a beautiful day,” Curry Tweeted Friday morning. Ray had more to say. “The peaceful transition of power […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 9, 2016

A talking point among some members of the Republican Party of Duval County: an “audit” dated March 31, 2016. The word “audit” is in quotes, given that the sole document circulating among at least some party insiders is a one-paragraph memo saying that the party couldn’t get its “audit” of 2015 completed three months into […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 5, 2016

The Republican Party of Duval County elected Karyn Morton as its party chair on Monday, by an 82 to 52 margin over Cindy Graves. Graves, who replaced Lake Ray when he declared for Congress in the spring of 2016, led the local party through a triumphant march to the election of Donald Trump. For her efforts, though, she was […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 21, 2016

Last March, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and members of the Duval delegation convened at Jacksonville’s City Hall, to discuss “what winning looks like.” The city got 90 percent of its appropriations goals. Jacksonville got money for public safety, such as the COPS program, and infrastructure needs, asking for $2 million and getting $1.8 million. And […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 8, 2016

Northeast Florida finally has clarity on what its legislative delegation for the next two years will look like, as a panoply of new faces, along with one holdover, won emphatic mandates for election. Many of the races — such as the ones won by Cord Byrd in House District 11, Clay Yarborough in HD 12, Rep. […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 2, 2016

The House District 12 Republican primary race had a familiar trajectory for most of it. Former Jacksonville City Council President Clay Yarborough was ahead in polls (one we saw had him up by 20 points a few weeks out from Election Day). He was also ahead in fundraising. Then, in the end, it got interesting. A […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 31, 2016

The northeast Florida primaries have been in the books for almost 24 hours at this writing. A review of the winners — and the losers — goes beyond the election returns to look at what happened to create these outcomes that will, in historical retrospect, seem inevitable. Winners Lenny Curry — The chattering classes told him he couldn’t get […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 30, 2016

Former Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford started the Congressional District 4 GOP primary as the establishment favorite, and on Tuesday night, with almost 39 percent of the vote, he defeated Hans Tanzler at 20 percent, Jacksonville State Rep. Lake Ray at 19 percent, and St. Johns County Commissioner Bill McClure with 10 percent. Rutherford, though outspent by […]

A.G. GancarskiAugust 30, 2016

In the GOP race in Florida’s 4th Congressional District, a little last-minute ammunition was used by the John Rutherford-friendly “Conservatives United” PAC. The targets: Hans Tanzler, with $8,000 of TV, and Lake Ray, with $2,449 on robocalls Sunday and Monday reminding voters that Ray had voted to give illegals drivers’ licenses. Both of these were Aug. 29 expenditures. The […]

Associated PressAugust 30, 2016

A former sheriff, a state representative and the son of a former Jacksonville mayor are the top candidates to replace Republican Congressman Ander Crenshaw, a longtime Florida political fixture retiring after eight terms. Former Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford, state Rep. Lake Ray, and Hans Tanzler III, a corporate tax lawyer and former federal prosecutor who […]

Tag: Lake Ray

Northeast Florida reacts to ‘beautiful day’ of Donald Trump inauguration

2015 financial audit for Duval GOP raises questions for insiders

Duval GOP elects Karyn Morton to chair

New Duval delegation members face a learning curve

New faces abound in Duval Legislative Delegation

Clay Yarborough discusses his victory in HD 12, outlines path forward

A rundown of the winners and losers from northeast Florida’s primary elections

John Rutherford wins CD 4 primary

Last-minute spending by pro-John Rutherford super PAC targets Hans Tanzler, Lake Ray

John Rutherford, Lake Ray and Hans Tanzler vie for House seat