Remember when Republicans said they were the party of "Law and Order?" The day that a twelve-person jury convicted DONALD JOHN TRUMP of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, our Congressman, JOHN HENRY RUTHERFORD, former Jacksonville Sheriff, announced that he was endorsed for re-election by a convicted felon, DONALD JOHN TRUMP. From Florida Politics:
Donald Trump endorses John Rutherford ahead of Primary.
A.G. Gancarski, Florida Politics, May 29
A big boost materializes for the former Jacksonville lawman.Former President Donald Trump is endorsing a Northeast Florida member of Congress whose political operation has some overlap with his own.
Trump gave his official backing to U.S. Rep. John Rutherford in his re-election bid in Florida’s 5th Congressional District, saying the former Jacksonville Sheriff and fourth-term Congressman “is doing a terrific job” in office.
“John works every day to Protect our Country, Grow our Economy, Support our Brave Police and First Responders, Defend our always under siege Second Amendment, and Uphold the Rule of Law. As a Sherriff, John spent many years safeguarding our great Communities, and he continues to do so in Congress. John Rutherford has my Complete and Total Endorsement & HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”
The Trump endorsement comes ahead of a rematch with Mara Macie, one of two Primary challengers to Rutherford in 2022. She was unsuccessful, getting 18% of the vote and finishing in a distant second place, with Rutherford taking 66% in that election.
Rutherford had more than half a million dollars on hand at the end of March, and the Trump endorsement further underscores his seeming inevitability.
If he should prevail, he will face a Democrat and a write-in in November.
Democrat Jay McGovern qualified in the race, he tells Florida Politics from Tallahassee. At this writing, the Division of Elections is processing his qualification paperwork.
McGovern has run for office before. 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 state House to a candidate who ended up losing 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.
A.G. Gancarski
A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014. He is based in Northeast Florida. He can be reached at AG@FloridaPolitics.com or on Twitter: @AGGancarski
There's no getting rid of Republicans in NE Florida. Still too many grifters and religious fundamentalist nut jobs with their head up their ass voting for these Hitlers. They pay police to vote for them and promise to be empty suits so the rich can hoard more of everyone's money and rent filch. That's their secret sauce.
ReplyDeleteYeah right. If he upheld the rule of law, he would condemn Trump crime spree and Trump lies that got all those stupid people arrested at the Capitol. January the 6th was worse than Hitler's Munich Beer Hall Putsch!
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