JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — LaShonda Holloway, the Democratic candidate vying for Florida’s newly redrawn Congressional District 4 is calling on her Republican opponent, Aaron Bean, to debate her in a public forum.
Holloway eked out a surprise victory over her primary challenger Tony Hill, winning by just 207 votes back in August.
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“I qualified to get on the ballot by petition. You know that’s no easy feat.”
There was a lot of coverage of CD 4 earlier this year, but most of the coverage focused on the redistricting process and the controversial decision to dismantle the old CD 5, which was a minority access district.
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Holloway said she believes this race has been largely ignored or written off by many as a lost cause, because the newly drawn 4 is expected to perform for Republicans.
The district would have gone 53%-46% for Trump in the 2020 election.
“It’s no secret that the governor drew, he introduced a map that was favorable to my opponent,” said Holloway.
But Holloway is hoping to get the spotlight back on the race by issuing a formal challenge to Bean to debate her in a public forum.
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“The future constituents in Clay County, Nassau County and Duval County should hear the issues, and they should hear from the candidates,” said Holloway.
We reached out to Bean’s communications team and asked whether he would accept Holloway’s challenge.
“This is the first we have heard from our opponent on this or anything quite frankly. Senator Bean has been on the campaign trail nonstop since June and has done many interviews and speaking engagements,” said Sarah Bascom, a PR consultant representing Bean.
Action News Jax extended an offer to both candidates to host a CD4 debate.
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Holloway said she “welcomed the opportunity.”
Bean’s campaign didn’t offer a direct comment on the proposal.
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