James Call

Democrat Capitol Reporter

Libertarian candidate joins four GOP candidates in newly-designed district race

District tilts so far towards Republicans the incumbent Democrat declined to run

Leon Democrats still searching for a viable candidate to carry their flag

The congressional District 2 primaries will be closed. A Libertarian candidate has emerged to challenge the four Republicans vying to succeed Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Tallahassee, in Washington.

Rob Lapham lived in Alaska for 35 years where he ran an IT company before moving to Texas in 2010, according to his website. There he served on the Texas Libertarian Executive Committee and ran for Congress in 2014.

In that race he pledged to downsize the military, eliminate the federal income tax and end the war on drugs. Lapham received 1.9 percent of the vote in a three-way race for the 22nd Congressional District of Texas.

"I expect to get a better result this time," he quips. "It's an uphill climb, but if you believe in your platform then you should run."

Lapham is a deficit hawk and believes the U.S. needs to get spending under control. Lapham and his wife Cheryl retired to Port. St. Joe last year and helped organized the Gulf County Libertarian Party.

He blames Congress for most of the country’s problems.

“A president cannot spend a dime unless it is first authorized by Congress,” said Lapham.

No Democrat has yet to enter the race, but more eyes seem to be turning toward term-limited state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda. Dave Jacobsen leads two Tallahassee political clubs that tend to tilt toward the party’s left wing; many of his fellow Democrats are upset with Graham’s performance and Vasilinda’s stand on gun rights – she co-sponsored the campus carry bill.

He surveyed people on his email contact list about a Vasilinda candidacy and said more than 70 percent of respondents would support her. Those who opposed her candidacy, he said, were one-issue voters upset about her stance on guns.

“They need to remember she has a history of standing with working people,” said Jacobsen, who had opposed campus carry.

Like the opt-in web survey by the Leon County Republican Executive Committee and the straw poll taken after a Florida Family Policy Council debate, Jacobsen conducted an unscientific nonrandom survey with a built-in bias. It’s all that is available at this stage of the campaign but provides insight into the thinking of select groups of county voters

One of the factors Vasilinda said she is considering is whether she can count on financial help from the Democratic Party. A couple of the GOP candidates have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and long lists of endorsements in a race for a district that so overwhelmingly favors Republicans it sent the Democratic incumbent into retirement.

In first quarter fundraising reports, Neal Dunn reports he had $552,000 in his campaign account, Mary Thomas reported $378,000, Ken Sukhia, $101,000 and Jeff Moran $6,000. New reports will be out next month.

The primaries are August 30.

This past week, Thomas picked up the endorsement of the House Freedom Fund.

“Mary Thomas is focused on fighting for less government and more freedom, and she's the only candidate in this race that conservatives can trust,” said Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, who chairs the fund.

Thomas adds the HFF endorsement to the score of national groups backing her campaign, including the Club for Growth, Maggie’s List, and the Tea Party Express.

Dunn meanwhile campaigned Friday at a Bay County Chamber of Commerce event where former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense provided an update on the distribution of money from the BP oil spill.

Bay County is Dunn’s base and Bense is among the list of former elected officials, including former Senate President Don Gaetz and Speaker Will Weatherford backing his campaign.

The campaigns indicated they were planning “major announcements” this coming week. On Monday, the state Division of Elections will begin accepting qualifying papers for state and federal offices. The qualifying period actually runs from noon June 20 through June 24.

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.