KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – On Nov. 8, Clay County voters will choose between two Putnam County men – a veteran union worker and a power plant operator – for House of Representatives District 19, a race that appears fairly low-key up to this point.

The dip in election fervor is largely due to Crescent City Democrat Hubert “Joe” Snodgrass’ cancer diagnosis dating back to early August. It was around this time his opponent, Republican Bobby Payne of Palatka, defeated two candidates in the Aug. 30 primary election.

It was a fierce primary and a decisive victory for Payne, one he largely attributes to his support in Union County, which, along with Bradford and Putnam counties and southern Clay County, make up District 19.

His opponents, Katherine Van Zant and former chairwoman of the Republican Party of Florida Leslie Dougher, fought for control after Republican incumbent Charles Van Zant was term limited out. Many saw Katherine Van Zant as a stand-in for her husband, which perhaps explains Payne’s 10-point victory over his closest rival.

“Winning the primary was the major obstacle for us at this point, of course we’re always

running like we’re 10 points behind,” Payne said.

Snodgrass’ campaign has taken a subsequent hit from his cancer diagnosis. He no longer has a campaign manager, and while he has surrogates campaigning for him, he acknowledges the difficulties in running a campaign in the aftermath of spending the majority of the past three months in and out of hospital visits.

Although doctors removed his right kidney and the cancer, he developed blood clots that often kept him confined under observation for long periods. Doctors put him on blood thinners and have removed some of the blood clots, but often clots reappear, making the exercise of searching for them a stressful game of chance.

He hopes to return to the campaign trail soon with full force.

“Even in a diminished capacity now, I still have the fire, I still have the desire – and damn right if I win this election I’ll be ready to take office,” Snodgrass said.

Snodgrass, who has worked in labor unions in every state, might have an even bigger foe to face in the fast-approaching general election – a highly conservative population that has long favored GOP candidates. Republicans in every county in district 19 outweigh Democrats by a substantial margin.

That’s not to say a Democrat can’t win, however. In 2008, Charles Van Zant beat Democrat Linda Myers of Palatka by three points. Each year since, he was returned to Tallahassee unopposed for four, two-year terms.

What the election then comes down to are the issues. The most apparent issue in District 19 is high poverty, an issue on which both candidates intersect but have different visions for possible solutions.

“[I want to] Raise minimum wage, not all at once, it’s a process, the more money a person makes the more money a person spends,” Snodgrass said. “If you have no disposable income you’re living from hand to mouth. People don’t want hand outs, they want a hand up. I’m talking about a solution.”

Payne said he could improve wages in the district by improving public and private partnerships, apprenticeship programs and on the job training for skilled labor, which would increase opportunities for “students who aren’t college bound.”

Payne comes from the point of view of a job creator. As the general manager of the Seminole Electric power generation plant in Palatka, he touts he has created many higher wage job opportunities in the largely rural district.

Snodgrass comes from the position of a man who has worked with his hands his entire life. “We have improved our unemployment opportunities but we need to make sure every kid coming out of high school has a career path or has some opportunity,” Payne said.

On taxes, Payne said it’s important to keep taxes low and instead focus on improving the tax base by growing job opportunities in the district. Snodgrass suggested adjusting gasoline taxes to inflation levels at the year 2000, which he could use to fix roads in the state. He also said moving money from unnecessary programs would free more money as well as putting an end to tax exemptions for businesses that fail to employ residents at a living wage.

Snodgrass and Payne echo each other on the need for environmental protection, but for slightly different reasons. Payne sees the environment through a fiscally conservative lens as a resource useful for economic benefit. Snodgrass points to the proliferation of phosphate mines as an example of where governments and corporations hollow out entire ecosystems and where that philosophy fails.

“The environment is a gift, it’s not something to be exploited, it should be used with responsibility,” Snodgrass said.

As both candidates proceed into the general election in less than two weeks, voters will have to decide the candidate they believe will represent them in the House. Ask either of the candidates, however, and they’ll both say it’s been a grueling year.

Both candidates face two write in candidates in the Nov. 8 general election.