Call it the Fleming Island connection.
State Rep. Sam Garrison is on track to become the speaker of the Florida House in 2026, following in the path of another lawmaker rooted in Clay County, John Thrasher, who was speaker in the late 1990s.
Garrison, R-Fleming Island, is set to take the gavel two years after state Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, completes his own turn as House speaker, making it a rare case of Northeast Florida lawmakers rising to the pinnacle of House leadership so close together.
Renner also has ties to the Jacksonville area because he grew up in Arlington and worked out of a downtown law firm for many years.
Read the rest of this story from WJCT News partner the Florida Times-Union.