Thursday’s Flagler Tiger Bay Meet and Greet at the Palm Coast Community Center drew some 300 people and almost every local election candidate on the Aug. 20 primary ballot. A straw poll consisting of some 225 votes yielded a few arresting results, such as County Commission candidate Pam Richardson’s trouncing of an absent Ed Danko, and a not-too surprising tight race for mayor in Palm Coast.
Florida Legislature
Flagler Tiger Bay Prepares for Largest Candidate Meet-and-Greet of Primary, Waving Off Fret Over Straw Poll
As of Monday some 40 local and state candidates had confirmed attendance at Thursday’s Tiger Bay Meet and Greet, what is expected to be the largest election gathering of the sort for Flagler County and Palm Coast politics ahead of the Aug. 20 primary. The three-hour free event starting at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Palm Coast Community Center will include a voter-registration drive organized by the Supervisor of Elections’ office, and a straw poll, which one candidate is criticizing as a “sham.” He appears isolated.
Alan Grayson Opts Out of Senate Race for Run at Florida Legislature
Alan Grayson has filed to run for the Florida Legislature. The former three-term Democratic congressman had been a candidate for the U.S. Senate, but he didn’t appear to be making much traction against establishment favorite Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
DeSantis Endorses Leek as Hutson’s Replacement, and as John Morgan Sneers
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday endorsed House Appropriations Chairman Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, in a Northeast Florida Senate race, days after high-profile attorney John Morgan publicly criticized Leek.
Democrat Ashley Brundage Launches Campaign, Would Be 1st Transgender Member of Florida Legislature If Elected
Democrat Ashley Brundage this week opened a campaign account to run for a Hillsborough County seat in the state House and to try to become the first transgender member of the Legislature.
Don O’Brien Said to Consider Dropping Out of House Race, Pam Richardson Runs for County Commission
Darryl Boyer, one of three Republican candidates in the primary for the state House seat that Paul Renner is relinquishing in 2024, said today that Donald O’Brien, one of the other two competitors for that seat, told him he was likely dropping out of the race. At the same time, Pam Richardson, the Realtor-broker, has joined the Republican primary race for O’Brien’s Commission seat, also contested by Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa.
Don Gaetz Wants Back in Florida Senate as His Son Disrupts U.S. House
Former state Senate President Don Gaetz is seeking a return to the Legislature as his son makes waves in Washington, D.C. Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who served in the Senate from 2006 to 2016, including as president during the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, said Monday he was filing paperwork to run next year in the Panhandle’s Senate District 1.
Palm Coast’s Darryl Boyer, Running for Renner’s Seat, Appears on Fox & Friends to Talk Trump/DeSantis
Darryl Boyer, the youngest emerging face of Flagler County’s Republican Party and a candidate for the Florida House seat held by Paul Renner in the 2024 election, was a guest this morning on Fox & Friends Weekend, his second appearance in four weeks on the show.
County Commissioner Donald O’Brien Declares Run for Renner’s Seat, Tom Leek for Hutson’s
Flagler County Commissioner Donald O’Brien, who in the last four years became Joe Mullins’s staunchest ally, will run for Paul Renner’s House seat, and Tom Leek, the House member from Ormond Beach, will run for Travis Hutson’s.
Flagler County Democrats’ Only Way Forward: Become Republican
Contrary to media interpretations, Democrats underperformed woefully nationally, and in Flagler County they were again all but wiped out. To survive locally they have two choices: either run their candidates as Republicans (and support other moderate Republicans), or keep dying at the polls.