Miami
Committee tied to Wyman Duggan gets $150,000 as Jacksonville mayoral bid talk grows
The contribution came from First Coast Energy, the fuel distributor led by Aubrey Edge. Florida Politics reported that the donation lands as Duggan is widely expected to enter the race against Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan.
The political committee Citizens for Building Florida’s Future, tied to state Rep. Wyman Duggan, received a $150,000 contribution on Sept. 3 from First Coast Energy, the Jacksonville fuel distributor led by Aubrey Edge, a member of the state university system’s Board of Governors.
According to Florida Politics, it was the largest donation the committee has received since it was created in 2018. After the contribution, the committee had roughly $1.35 million on hand.
The outlet said Duggan is expected to run for Jacksonville mayor. Even so, Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan still holds the fundraising edge, with about $2.6 million available between her Duval for All political committee and campaign account.
Florida Politics also reported that 11 candidates are in the field. Among them, Republican Ronald Armstrong Jr. has a little more than $7,000 on hand, while the rest of the field is in even weaker financial shape.
Jacksonville’s system calls for a first election in March, with all qualified candidates appearing on a single ballot open to registered Duval County voters. The outlet noted that the size of the field could keep either Deegan or Duggan from winning an outright majority and force a May runoff.
A recent St. Pete Polls survey of likely city voters, conducted for Florida Politics, showed Deegan leading Duggan by 20 points in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, with 53% support.
Republicans backing Duggan downplayed that poll, the outlet reported, pointing to former Mayor Lenny Curry, who was not seen as a polling front-runner before seriously launching his 2015 campaign against Democratic Mayor Alvin Brown.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
