While he may have entered the U.S. Senate contest late, former U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, who is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, showed this weekend that he retains solid support in his backyard with a win in a straw poll.
Weldon won the Brevard County Hob Nob straw poll in Titusville, which was sponsored by the North Brevard Republican Club, on Saturday but the leading candidate for the Republican nomination -- U.S. Rep. Connie Mack -- was not even on the ballot.
Having represented the area for almost a decade and a half in Congress, Weldon ran away with the straw poll, taking 128 votes. Without Mack on the ballot, his closest Republican competitor was former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux who took 33 votes.
Weldon was the only Senate candidate to appear at the event and he stressed his conservative credentials when he addressed the crowd.
We need a real conservative in this field, Weldon said, arguing that only an authentic conservative could be the right man to go against Bill Nelson in November.
Weldon stressed his social conservatism, including opposition to abortion and support for traditional marriage, and he also argued that a strong economy could only rest on traditional social values.
U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., also spoke at the event and scored a big victory in the straw poll, taking 221 out of 243 votes cast. Pledging to save NASA from budget cuts, Posey also looked to stress his conservatism, insisting that he was one of Nancy Pelosis worst enemies.
Sebastian City Councilman Richard Gillmor, the former mayor of that town, who is offering a conservative challenge to Posey as he runs with no party affiliation, spoke at the event and vowed to secure the border, balance the budget and support congressional term limits. He placed a distant second to Posey, taking 11 votes.
Two Democrats in the race -- attorney David Gunter and former Cape Canaveral City Councilwoman Shannon Roberts, who ran against Posey in 2010 -- placed in the single digits.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
