Florida Chamber Endorses John Thrasher

Facing a surprisingly strong challenge from Dr. Charles Perniciaro, Republican Party of Florida chairman Sen. John Thrasher of Jacksonville announced on Thursday that he had won the backing of the Florida Chamber of Commerce for his Senate seat representing the First Coast.

On behalf of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Floridas largest business advocate, representing more than 139,000 businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region, I am happy to announce that we have chosen to endorse John Thrasher in his race for Senate District 8, said chamber president and CEO Mark Wilson.We believe that if John is elected to the Florida Senate he will help produce sustained economic growth and promote Floridas competitiveness in world markets. In addition, it is clear that John understands that more government isnt the solution to growing our economy, and he will be a leader who will not back down in the fight to get our economy growing again.

The recovery of our district and states economy has been a cornerstone of my campaign, said Thrasher. And if re-elected to the Florida Senate, I pledge to encourage job creation and economic growth, while at the same time fighting to limit government regulation and intrusion in an effort to attract new business to our state, as well as making the state a better place to do business for existing companies.

In the meantime, claiming that the organization violated campaign law, Perniciaro has filed a complaint against the Responsible Leadership Committee which has run numerous attack mailers against his candidacy. More on the Perniciaro complaint can be read at the Florida Times Union.