One potential Republican candidate for mayor came off the political chessboard when Jerry Holland opted to run again for supervisor of elections, but three others are still in play for a GOP challenge to Mayor Donna Deegan.
City Council member Rory Diamond, state Rep. Wyman Duggan and City Council member Ron Salem are potential candidates against Deegan, a Democrat who filed April 16 for re-election.
In 2023, Deegan defeated Daniel Davis in a run-off contest after he prevailed over other Republican candidates in a bruising first election. Republicans would like to avoid a repeat of that in 2027 but so far, no consensus candidate has fused support from others.
“It was a bloodbath for the Republican candidates, not from the Democratic opposition, but from each other,” Holland said of 2023.
He said the best way to avoid that would be to have one major Republican candidate, but if there are multiple candidates from the GOP, there should be upfront commitments to run without attacking other Republicans.
“I’ve been in meetings with the guys and they all promise not to attack each other, so they all know what happened in 2023,” Holland said. “They can’t repeat that. There’s no success in that.”
As for his own aspirations, Holland said he started with great passion for becoming a mayoral candidate but ultimately chose to file April 10 for re-election as supervisor of elections.
“I’m a person of faith and I kept praying, ‘God, give me peace about whatever it is you want me to do,'” Holland said “And I just ended up with the peace of staying where I am.”
In alphabetical order, here are the three Republicans considering a challenge to Deegan who could bring substantial fundraising to a campaign, along with a less well-known Republican who already filed.
City Council member Rory Diamond
Rory Diamond has carved out a record on City Council of opposing spending increases in the city’s budget while voting against tax and fee increases. He wanted an 8.8% cut in the property tax rate last year and ended up voting for the 1% cut enacted on a 10-9 vote by City Council.
He tried to get budget restrictions on spending tax dollars for abortions, assistance for residents in the U.S. without legal documentation, and for diversity, equity and inclusion programs. That lead to a marathon council meeting that ended in the early-morning hours with Diamond’s amendment stripped out of the budget passed by council. He recently file stand-alone legislation on the abortion restrictions.
Diamond was elected to City Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2023 for the District 13 seat that covers Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Mayport and the Intracoastal West area. Term limits prevent him from running again for City Council.
He is an attorney and a captain in the U.S. Army and Florida National Guard. He is the youngest of the potential candidates on the Republican side and has been active in supporting Turning Point USA chapters that reach out to college-age and high school students.
“The support for a potential campaign is truly incredible,” Diamond said. “We think we are very well-positioned to make sure Donna is a one-term mayor.”
State Rep. Wyman Duggan
Before Holland officially filed for re-election as election supervisor, he met with state Rep. Wyman Duggan to give him a heads-up on his decision.
Holland said based on what he heard at that meeting, Duggan is “100% in” on running for mayor
Duggan is in his eighth year in the state House where he rose to become speaker pro tempore from 2024 through this year. He represents House District 12 that covers part of the Westside and crosses over the St. Johns River to go from San Marco down to Mandarin.
He has backed increased funding for University of North Florida campus expansion and the University of Florida graduate campus in downtown. He won support for legislation banning cities from using citizen review boards to investigate complaints against police.
Duggan is an attorney whose practice represents developers and landowners seeking local and state government approval for residential, commercial and industrial projects.
In a recent interview with Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power, Duggan said the 2027 election needs to “bring the Republican voters home” who supported Deegan in 2023.
“I’m happy to say that I firmly believe that the people who are considering running next time have all agreed there needs to be one consensus candidate,” Duggan said. “That’s how you win.”
Duggan is best-positioned at this stage to fund a mayoral campaign. His political committee Citizens for Building Florida’s Future has about $1.1 million cash in hand, according to Florida Division of Elections campaign finance reports.
City Council member Ron Salem
Ron Salem won election to City Council in 2019 and re-election in 2023. As is the case with Diamond and Duggan, term limits keep Salem from running again for his current seat.
“I enjoy public service and would like to continue in some fashion,” Salem said, adding he has not made a decision on his future.
Salem’s leadership roles on City Council have built up a storehouse of institutional knowledge about city government.
When he was council president from July 2023 to June 2024, he created a special committee that got the ball rolling on the plan for building a new jail. He also lead council’s review and approval of the proposed deal that Deegan negotiated with the Jaguars for renovating the city-owned stadium and extending the team’s lease another 30 years.
Salem currently serves on three standing council committees — neighborhoods, finance and rules — is chair of the council’s Duval DOGE Committee and the Special Investigative Committee on JEA Matters, and is vice chair of council’s special committee on the future of downtown.
He has a doctorate in pharmacy and is president of Salem & Associates that provides consulting services in the pharmaceutical industry.
As an at-large council member, he is the only potential candidate for mayor who has won election in a citywide race.
Political newcomer Ron Armstrong
Of the candidates who have filed so far for mayor, Ron Armstrong has been the most active with a grass-roots campaign.
His campaign web site has a “For Jesus. For Jax” message on it and says Jacksonville “deserves leadership that’s been in the trenches.”
He has raised $24,000 but the main test for the viability of his campaign will be whether an ongoing petition drive can secure enough signatures to get him on the ballot in 2027.
Armstrong founded Grounds of Grace coffee company in support of Sponsored by Grace, a nonprofit that works on community revitalization and helping children growing up in poverty. He recently sold the company and its coffee shops as he focuses on his campaign for mayor, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: These Republicans weigh run for mayor with 2023 ‘bloodbath’ in mind
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
