Good Friday morning.
The stars had seemingly aligned for former Rep. Lake Ray’s campaign to return to the Legislature.
House District 12 is open now that Rep. Clay Yarborough is running for Senate with leadership support. And the Duval-based seat has a sizable GOP advantage. Add in a volley of high-profile endorsements from the Jacksonville legislative delegation, and it seemed pretty close to a sure thing.
Well, Jessica Baker has something to say about that.
The Assistant State Attorney entered the field on Friday, setting up what could easily become a barnburner of a Republican Primary.
She spared the pleasantries in her campaign announcement: “Each day it seems another career politician finds a new way to rant about how divided we are as a nation, determined to drive a wedge between all of us and common-sense solutions.
“I’m running for Florida House District 12 because, like so many of you, I’m ready to tune out the politically driven outrage and focus on Florida-based outcomes for our families, our businesses and our communities that preserve our God-given freedoms and defend your right to pursue the American dream.”
Before becoming a prosecutor, Baker worked at high-powered lobbying firms Ballard Partners and Sachs Sax Caplan as well as in various capacities for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and former Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
While the Florida State University law school grad is accomplished in her own right, she has an ace up her sleeve — her husband is political consultant Tim Baker, who was instrumental in Curry’s election as Mayor.
Ray is not without firepower. He has veteran campaign consultant Bert Ralston in his corner. He’ also has a head start in the money race, with about $150,000 on hand between his campaign account and political committee.
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
—@Timodc: Low vaxxed upper Midwest states about to get their Florida surge, and nobody seems to have learned anything. PS. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have all passed NY in deaths per capita thanks to their post-vax spike. Insane.
Tweet, tweet:
Tweet, tweet:
—@JeffreyBrandes: Question — Why does the Florida lottery use a flamingo 
in its advertisements and not the current State bird the mockingbird? Maybe because no one associates the northern mockingbird with the southernmost state.
—@JKennedyReport: While it’s @WaltDisneyWorld‘s 50th anniversary Friday, it almost didn’t go to the Orlando area. When (Walt) Disney met with St. Joe Paper boss Ed Ball about land in NW Fla, he was told, “Mr. Disney, I’m not going to see you today — or any day. I don’t do business with carnival people.”
—@pixelatedboat: If they made The Sopranos in today’s woke society, it would be about Tony Soprano going to therapy
Tweet, tweet:
Halloween decorations in 2021 pic.twitter.com/X1lD7xfUyv
— Ryan Marino (@RyanMarino) September 30, 2021
Republished with permission [/vc_message]
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