Two First Coast conservative legislators were vying for the new Congressional district 4 seat in Northeast Florida when one suddenly dropped out of the race.
Jason Fischer and Aaron Bean, both members of the Florida Legislature, were trying to show who had the best credentials. “I’m a conservative fighter and I have a record to prove it,” Fischer said. “We need a person in Congress who will fight, not join with the Democrats.”
Before being elected to the legislature, Fischer served on the Duval County School Board.
Before running for Congress, he had announced for a Florida Senate seat, then for property appraiser. After dropping from the congressional race, he announced he was back in the race for property appraiser with an endorsement from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
It was awkward because both are conservative.
Associated Industries of Florida, a leading business organization, said Bean has voted with them 92 percent of the time, vs. 90 percent for Fischer.
Fischer already had spent a slew of money running commercials and it isn’t clear why he changed his mind but Bean clearly is the beneficiary.
Bean was a commissioner and mayor of Fernandina Beach from 1996-99. He ran for the Florida House in 2000, served through 2008 and then was elected to the Florida Senate in 2012. He currently is president pro tem of the Senate.
Bean probably is the favorite to win the seat, which includes Nassau and Clay counties and the western part of Duval County. Since being reconfigured, it slightly favors Republicans. That has Democrats seething because the former district had been gerrymandered to elect Democrats.