The two candidates battled in the 2012 Republican primary as Wood was running for a third term in the Florida House. Wood took 65 percent of the vote in the 2012 primary while 35 percent of the Republican voters in the Polk County district backed Lindsey. Back in 2010, Lindsey set his sights a little higher, taking 31 percent when he battled Dennis Ross in the Republican primary during the race for an open congressional seat.
As he bowed out of the race, Lindsey praised Wood for introducing HM 625 to use the power included under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to call a national constitutional convention to pass a balanced budget amendment. If two-thirds of the states pass similar motions, a convention of states can be called to pass the amendment.
This is perhaps the most significant piece of legislation Rep. Wood could have sponsored, Lindsey said. The opportunity to limit the federal government in its spending and power will help restore individual liberty and responsibility to all Americans.
Insisting Wood is a good conservative, Lindsey bowed out of the race. Lindsey pointed to a recent speech from Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera to the Polk County GOP in which the new lieutenant governor said, Candidates should run to do something, not to be somebody! Lindsey insisted those words applied to both himself as well as Wood.
Still, even as he ended his bid against Wood, Lindsey insisted he was going to remain active in 2014 and 2016. Lindsey pledged to do all he could to help Gov. Rick Scott win in November and said he planned to run, once again, for the House seat in 2016 when Wood faces term limits.
By the end of March, Wood had raised $81,850. Lindsey had raised almost $5,000 during his campaign. By the end of February, Celstyne Williams, who is challenging Wood as a Democrat, raised almost $3,000. While Democrats outnumber Republicans in this district, the GOP usually holds the advantage here. Scott beat out Alex Sink here by 8 percent in the 2010 gubernatorial race.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
