Former Rep. Aaron Bean moved a step closer to returning to Tallahassee, surviving a costly Republican primary expected to decide who will replace Sen. Steve Wise, R-Jacksonville, representing parts of Duval County and all of Nassau County.
The contest for the Republican-leaning district is considered one of the keys to the future Senate presidency, with Bean in the camp backing the 2016 term for Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, over Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
Bean called the victory a conservative mandate.
Today the residents of Senate District 4 did not just vote for me; they voted for positive, conservative leadership that is focused on creating jobs, helping our small businesses compete and prosper, and creating opportunities for our states children, Bean stated in a release Tuesday night..
I will carry this conservative mandate that voters gave me today throughout the general election and all the way to Tallahassee in November.
How big was the race in the shape of overall Florida politics? Negron, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, were among those waving signs along roads in Jacksonville for Bean.
Bean of Fernandina Beach, who has received the backing of state party leadership ranking as high as Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and former Gov. Jeb Bush, defeated Rep. Mike Weinstein, R-Jacksonville, on Tuesday.
In addition to the $800,000 tossed around by the campaign for the two candidates, Bean also received about $2 million in TV and mailed advertising support from a group backed by Negron and Sen. President-designate Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
The party establishment support even had Bush appearing in an ad praising Bean for having been tough in Tallahassee and assuring First Coast Republicans that he is a solid conservative.
Bean will now take on two write-in candidates and Democratic candidate former Ambassador Nancy Soderberg who worked in the Clinton administration.
Soderberg actually will begin the fall contest with a fiscal advantage even though Bean raised $488,574 during the primary.
Soderberg had roughly $75,000 -- including $15,000 of her own money -- on hand as she had no primary opponent.
Bean had to burn all but $40,000 of his money prior to his final finance report due on Friday as Weinstein also spent $392,204 of the $444,906 that he raised. Weinsteins funding included $200,000 of his own money.
Weinstein, who is known to Jacksonville residents for his two unsuccessful mayoral bids, served as executive director for the citys Economic
Development Commission and was instrumental in the citys efforts to host a Super Bowl.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
