2022 Elections Now in Full Swing Legislative Update from FMHCA Lobbyist, Corinne Mixon
Florida Candidate Qualifying officially closed at 12:00pm on Friday, June 17th. The Florida Department of State has completed updating the Candidate Listing for the 2022 Election and now the 2022 Election Cycle is in full swing. I wanted to provide a political update for FMHCA to help shape the landscape of what the voters will see before them. US Senate On the top of the 2022 Ballot with be the US Senate race for incumbent Senator Marco Rubio’s seat. Senator Rubio was the only Republican to qualify and has taken the GOP nomination unopposed. Current Congresswoman Val Demings is the presumptive Democrat nominee, but there are several other candidates in the race. Although somewhat of a “red wave” has been predicted in the State of Florida, Demings is considered one of the strongest Democratic contenders in the United States. Governor There are multiple Democrats running for the Party nomination to challenge Governor Ron DeSantis and Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez. The Democrat Primary will likely be decided between Congressman Charlie Crist and Commissioner of
Agriculture Nikki Fried. Crist has the current advantage with endorsements, but Fried’s internal polling shows the two tied. Governor DeSantis has a sizeable fundraising advantage over all of his potential democrat opponents. Attorney General Aramis Ayala, Jim Lewis, and Daniel Uhlfelder are competing for the Democrat nominee to challenge incumbent Attorney General Ashley Moody. AG Moody has a sizeable fundraising advantage and is the current favorite to win re-election. Chief Financial Officer Republican incumbent Jimmy Patronis is being challenged by Democrat Adam Hattersley. As the two were the only ones to qualify, there will not be a Primary Election for this race. Commissioner of Agriculture Current Commissioner Nikki Fried has decided to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor instead of running for reelection. Current Senate President Wilton Simpson has obtained the endorsement from former President Trump, Governor DeSantis, as well AG Moody and CFO Patronis. Simpson is the FMHCA.org | InSession- July 2022 | 53
