JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s all but guaranteed that Duval County’s congressional maps will both lean Republican in the upcoming election.
The latest map just needs approval from the state legislature and the governor, which will likely come next week.
There are already a lot of names floating around for who might run in one of the new districts, and Mayor Lenny Curry is one of them.
The newly proposed Congressional District 4 would have gone 52-45% for Trump in the previous election.
The new CD 5 would have skewed even further right, with a 57-41% split for Trump.
With Congressman John Rutherford likely to hold on to District 5, the University of North Florida political scientist Dr. Michael Binder anticipates CD will be an open field for Republicans.
“It opens up a lot of doors for Republican officeholders who maybe didn’t see a path forward,” said Binder.
Curry is an obvious contender, and sources with knowledge of the subject tell us he’s considering a run, but, on the record, the mayor has been silent.
Twice this week Action News Jax has tried to ask the mayor himself at public events whether he is considering a congressional bid, and twice he has slipped out of the conversation without answering questions.
On Thursday, at the conclusion of a Jacksonville Icemen press conference at City Hall, Curry slipped through a curtain, into the city council chamber, and out the front door.
As far as Curry’s strengths and weaknesses go, Binder said Curry has name recognition but also has found himself surrounded by controversy as of late.
“With the JEA scandal. There are now court cases. His name is connected to it,” said Binder.
Curry also hasn’t started fundraising.
On the other hand, Jacksonville state Rep. Jason Fischer’s political action committee has raised over $800,000.
There is also Jax Chamber CEO Daniel Davis, who has banked more than $4.2 million in his war chest.
“But he’s theoretically been running for mayor for the last couple of years. Does he shift? I don’t know,” said Binder.
Other names in the running include Jacksonville state Rep. Cord Byrd and Sheriff Mike Williams.
Binder expects we may only see one or two candidates actually file because qualifying is just around the corner in June.
“Folks that are gonna go need to be positioned to go, and maybe not everybody is at the starting gate ready to run,” said Binder.
When asked about a congressional bid, we were told to “stay tuned” by Byrd and Fischer.
We did not hear back from the sheriff’s office on whether Williams has his eye on a Congress position.
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