Democratic North Florida Congressman Al Lawson is endorsing Jacksonville’s incumbent Republican Mayor Lenny Curry for reelection.
Lawson formally announced his support Friday, praising Curry for working across the aisle to build partnerships and deliver results for all Jacksonville families.
“Lenny Curry has been a strong leader for Jacksonville. He has focused on the issues that matter most to our community,” said Lawson.
Curry returned the mutual admiration, saying, “Congressman Lawson has been a strong advocate for Jacksonville in Congress and I have appreciated our opportunities to collaborate in a bipartisan manner to keep Jacksonville moving forward.”
Related: Voters' Guide
Jacksonville City Councilman Tommy Hazouri, also a Democrat, began running a pro-Curry television ad earlier this month. Hazouri, a former mayor, is facing a challenge for his Council seat from Democrat James Jacobs.
That’s as the Duval Democratic Party recently passed a resolution opposing Curry’s reelection. The Democratic Party stopped short of formally endorsing his strongest opponent, Republican City Councilwoman Anna Lopez Brosche.
Brosche, who's courting Democrats as part of her campaign strategy, also has at least one elected Democrat in her corner. Incumbent City Councilman Garrett Dennis called into to WJCT's First Coast Connect With Melissa Ross to announce his support for Brosche on the day she filed to run. Dennis is facing a challenge from Marcullus Daniel Holmes III, who is also a Democrat.
There are six candidates running for mayor but none of them are Democrats:
- Omega Allen (No Party Affiliation)
- Anna Lopez Brosche (Republican)
- Lenny Curry (Republican)
- Brian Griffin (Write-In)
- Jimmy Hill (Republican)
- Johnny Sparks (Write-In)
Jacksonville’s election is March 19. A candidate needs to get 50 percent of the vote, plus one, to win outright. Otherwise, the top two vote getters in each race will square off in a May 14 runoff.
As of Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. there were 247,239 Democrats registered to vote in Jacksonville's election compared to 220,455 Republicans and 137,427 voters listed as "other." That's according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections.
The deadline to register to vote in the March unitary election is February 19.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
