When heading to the polls this November, residents all over Florida will have a chance to select a new Governor. But before that can happen, the number of candidates has to be whittled down in the August primary.
Candidates have been traveling throughout the Panhandle to make their pitches.
Democrat David Jolly, who is widely considered the front-runner for his party's nomination, says he’s been hearing from people in rural counties that they want politicians to take their concerns seriously.
“Rural Florida is just asking to make sure they have a seat at the table,” Jolly says. “That their voice is heard as well because too many of our politics often get decided in the urban corridor.”
Republican candidates, former House Speaker Paul Renner, and businessman James Fishback, echo similar sentiments.
“One size does not fit all,” Renner says. “Rural communities have unique needs and they have unique demands.”
More than a third of Florida’s counties don’t generate enough revenue to support local government services like public safety, schools and roads—which means the state has to pick up the tab. And not all of the needs of fiscally-constrained counties get funded.
Many of those constrained counties, as Fishback notes, are within North Florida’s Panhandle.
“Florida is more than just Orlando, Miami and Jacksonville,” Fishback says. “It is rural counties like Bay, Liberty, Gulf and Franklin.”
Rural communities are entering campaign season with many issues and concerns—from legislation on data centers to worries about the affordability of homes, and even a proposed amendment to the state that would significantly reduce local government revenues by cutting property taxes.
Niceville resident Randy Wise recently attended a rally for Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins, who is also seeking to upgrade his job. Wise says he’s grateful for the time the candidates are spending in North Florida.
“We want to feel like we know the guy at the top,” Wise says. “We want to think that we can call him if we need to. We want to be able to reach out and touch him and know that he feels the pain with the issues that we are experiencing.”
Wise works in real estate, and he’s concerned that the number of new arrivals to the area are driving up demand and home prices in a way that makes it harder for some longtime residents to keep their existing properties.
“We’re just glad we are being recognized up here in the panhandle and we got those guys coming through here and talking to us,” Wise says. “We feel like sometimes we’re a little bit sidelined because we are not Miami or Fort Lauderdale.”
Democrat David Jolly is now considered the party’s frontrunner for governor after Orlando Mayor Jerry Demmings dropped out due to health concerns. On the Republican side, Congressman Byron Donalds leads his field. Donalds has also made stops in the Panhandle, including in Marianna.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Donalds says people are telling him quote—“they just want Florida to remain Florida.”
