The most heated congressional race in Northeast Florida is in the Democratic Party primary where LaShonda “L.J.” Holloway is running to challenge U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean for a third time, while Michael Kirwan says Holloway’s back-to-back losses to Bean show Kirwan would be the electable nominee for Democrats in November.
Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, and Rep. John Rutherford, R-Jacksonville, are seeking re-election to the congressional districts that cover the greater Jacksonville area.
Rutherford faces a GOP primary opponent while Bean is unopposed in the primary. Both districts will have Democratic nominees selected during the Aug. 18 primary election.
Kirwan’s campaign recently sent a mailer that featured a photo of Holloway shaking hands with Republican governor candidate James Fishback and displayed a photo of her superimposed next to President Donald Trump, also a Republican.
Holloway called it a “dirty tricks” campaign tactic.
“I’ve run for this seat more than once and it’s the nastiest campaign I have ever participated in, and I think it’s because when people are not competent, then they have to resort to mudslinging as opposed to saying what you are going to do for the people,” she said.
Kirwan, a retired attorney and past chair of the Jacksonville Ethics Commission, said the message behind the email is that Holloway “is the Republicans’ choice because Republicans definitely want to see Ms. Holloway in November.”
He said the November election will be decided by independents and he can win them over while Holloway has shown she cannot put together a winning coalition against Bean. Bean won 60.5% of the vote against Holloway in 2022 and 57.3% in 2024.
“I think voters want to know we can win this election, meaning beat Aaron Bean,” he said. “Voters want to know we can deliver some solutions and we can improve their day-to-day lives, so there’s definitely a thirst or a hunger for change.”
Holloway’s campaign said the the photo in Kirwan’s mailer of her with Fishback happened when he approached her unannouced at her campaign kickoff event.
Holloway, an arbitrator and mediator, says she’s a life-long Democrat while referring to Kirwan as a “former Republican” because he was a registered Republican between 2016 and 2021. Kirwan said he registered as a Republican in 2016 to vote against Trump in the GOP primary and he kept that registration for several years because he wanted to vote in some local contests where Democrats didn’t field candidates.
Democratic socialist rounds out field for Democratic primary
Also vying for the Democratic Party nomination is Brit Robinson who is running for Congress as a Democratic socialist. She is the spouse of an active-duty member of the Navy and says she comes from a “long line of military family, mostly Marines.”
She said making sure people are safe inside schools is her top priority. She is campaigning on free universal healthcare, ending the war in Iran and campaign finance reform.
She said a Democrat must win the vote of those 40 and younger and from voters connected to the military in order to defeat Bean. “I’m the only one that can get both,” she said.
Holloway said she supports Medicare for All for health care. Kirwan favors beefing up the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
U.S. Rep. John Rutherford faces primary challenger
The Fourth Congressional District represented by Bean covers all of Nassau and Clay counties plus Duval County north and west of the St. Johns River along with a slice of Arlington.
The Fifth Congressional District represented by Rutherford encompasses Duval County east and south of the St. Johns River except for a piece of Arlington and all of St. Johns County.
Rutherford faces a primary challenge by Mark Kaye.
The candidates in the Democratic Primary for that seat are Rachel Grage, Alex Hazen and Mark Heggestad.
Election day voting on Aug. 18 runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Holloway and Kirwan battle for nomination to challenge Aaron Bean
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
