On Wednesday, Pastor Jack Martin launched a bid for the Republican nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., who is retiring from Congress after three terms.
Martin kicked off his congressional campaign in Spring Hill and showcased his conservative credentials as he reeled in the support Gun Rights Across America (GRAA) and the United Christians of Florida PAC.
In his campaign launch, Martin stressed his lack of political experience and took aim at the problems in Washington, D.C.
“Some said, that if we could only take control of the House and Senate we would get our nation back on track,” Martin said. “But that hasn’t happened. In fact things have gotten worse, evidenced by the vote this past December by both the House and Senate on to pass $1.14 Trillion in new spending in 2016 in the 2000 plus page omnibus bill.
“There is a saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome,” Martin added. “And that is what we have done in American politics for years. We continue to elect those who have occupied Washington DC and the halls of Congress for seemingly endless periods of time. Managing no more than a sea of gridlock and more often than not, endless conservative surrender. It simply can’t continue. We cannot endure four to eight more years of progressive changes that tear away at the moral fiber of our nation. Something has to change.”
Martin called on America to return to the principles of the Founding Fathers.
“To return to America’s roots, to the framework the Founders gave us - the Constitution - and to revisit the guidelines given us likewise in the Declaration of Independence," Martin said. “It’s in that document that we read that we are all created equal, and that we have unalienable rights, and those rights don’t come from the government, but rather they come from God. But there is one line in that document that needs to be remembered and refreshed. It reads like this: ‘Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed.’"
Martin has spent more than thirty years in the ministry, currently serving as the senior pastor of Praise Family Worship Center. He was also the founding chaplain of Spring Hill Fire Rescue, and has been active with first responders, Second Amendment and veterans groups. Martin is also the chaplain of the Nature Coast 912 group and the Retired FDNY 343 Hernando group.
Nugent has kept the seat easily for Republicans in the last two election cycles. Currently the seat starts in Ocala and heads southwest to the Gulf shore, stopping in Spring Hill. The seat is solidly Republican though it could be altered if the latest round of redistricting is successfully challenged in the federal courts.
Martin does not have an open shot at the Republican nomination. Justin Grabelle, who worked as Nugent’s chief of staff, launched his bid after his boss retired in November. Rancher Kelly Rice, who sits on the Southwest Florida Water Management District Board, is also running for the Republican nomination. Businessman Dave Koller, who lost to Nugent in 2014, is running again for the Democrats. Matt Schnackenberg is in the race as a Libertarian.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
