President Donald Trump has endorsed Congressman Neal Dunn, R-Panama City, for a sixth term representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
The endorsement came in a Truth Social post on Oct. 14, when he also endorsed incumbent GOP U.S. Reps. Kat Cammack in the 3rd District and Laurel Lee in the 15th.
Trump wrote Dunn has his “Complete and Total Endorsement” and said the 72-year-old urological surgeon is a “tremendous Representative for the Great People of the 2nd Congressional District.”
Dunn has represented the 16-county district since Jan. 3, 2017, when he was officially sworn in. Roughly half of its voters live in the Tallahassee and Panama City areas, with the capital filled with predominately Democratic voters and the other with Republicans.
And while the Tallahassee metro area is a Democratic stronghold, only once giving Dunn more than 46% of the vote, in the district’s other 13 counties Dunn has scored more than 71% of the vote in five straight elections. Various political rating services label it either “Safe Republican” or “Solid Republican.”
Dunn’s committee assignments this term include Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Investigations, and Health, which he is vice chair.
Dunn responded to the Trump endorsement with an endorsement of Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Congressman Byron Donalds, R-Naples. “I’m proud to support my friend Byron Donalds for Governor, a tireless ally of President Trump’s MAGA agenda,” Dunn said.
During his eight years in office, Dunn has established a staunchly conservative record. The Heritage Foundation scores Dunn at 78% on a scorecard of congressional votes on conservative issues, for example.
Three Democrats have filed to oppose Dunn in next year’s congressional race: Tallahassee attorney Yen Bailey, data analyst Nic Zateslo and Amanda Green, a former international aid administrator.
According to federal finance reports Bailey reports $51,228 cash on hand for the primary campaign, Zateslo has $46,080, and Green has $31,817. Dunn, who has no primary opposition so far, has $395,549 in his campaign account.
The primary election will be held Aug. 18. The general election is Nov. 3.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: President Donald Trump endorses Florida’s Neal Dunn for a sixth term in Congress
Reporting by James Call, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
