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Political newcomer scores Bradley/Cummings backing


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JACKSONVILLE – Republican Wyman Duggan, a Jacksonville lawyer seeking to replace departing Jay Fant in House District 15, scored big in December on two fronts.

Duggan finally hit six figures in fundraising, reporting $10,124 of new December money, which pushed him up to $103,674 raised (and over $92,000 on hand).

Among the donors: the political committee of Clay County Rep. Travis Cummings (First Coast Conservatives).

In addition to hitting a fundraising milestone, Duggan also scored a key endorsement from another Clay County Republican in Tallahassee: Senate Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley.

Bradley described Duggan as “a respected community leader who will serve with honor, integrity, and commitment to our shared conservative values.”

Duggan, meanwhile, is “honored to have the support of Sen. Bradley who has served as a conservative leader in the Florida Senate. I look forward to working with Sen. Bradley throughout my campaign and in the Florida legislature fighting for a more prosperous and brighter future for Florida.”

Duggan has scored a swath of endorsements from Republican electeds, setting up the “Your leaders trust Duggan … shouldn’t you?” mail pieces.

Jacksonville City Councilmen Danny Becton, Matt Schellenberg, Greg Anderson, Aaron Bowman, Scott Wilson, Doyle Carter, Jim Love and Sam Newby are on board. So are former Council members Jim Overton and Kevin Hyde. And Rep. John Rutherford, State Sen. Aaron Bean, State Rep. Jason Fischer, Duval Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell, Duval Tax Collector Michael Corrigan also back Duggan.

However, Bradley is unique as a regional powerbroker, and his endorsement is key.

Especially in recent months since becoming Appropriations Chair, the Fleming Island Republican has shown robust committee fundraising for his Working for Florida’s Families.

In December, Bradley’s Working for Florida’s Families brought in $173,000, pushing it to $720,000 on hand.

Among the donors: U.S. Sugar, Walmart, Florida Blue, Associated Industries of Florida.

Potential access to those deep pockets, whether directly or by proxy, is an asset in what looks to be a competitive general election. Per Daily Kos, HD 15 “was R+8.7 for president after being R+12.6 in ‘12.”

Duggan’s likely Democrat opponent, highly touted Tracye Polson, has some ground to make up to catch Duggan’s $92,000 cash on hand.

Though December receipts were not available at this writing, Polson closed November with $50,000 in hard money and an additional $13,000 in the account of her political committee, Better Jacksonville.

Polson hopes to counteract Duggan’s access to the donor class with canvassing the Westside Jacksonville district; her team is a fixture on HD 15 streets on weekends.

We will update this post with December numbers for Polson once they are filed.

A.G. Gancarski’s story appears courtesy of FloridaPolitics.com.