Looking to rally conservatives behind his candidacy, former U.S. Attorney Ken Sukhia launched his bid for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., on Tuesday.
At an event in Tallahassee, in front of the courthouse where he served as U.S. attorney, Sukhia entered the race after conservative author Peter Schweizer and Dennis Williamson, a former U.S. marshal who served as deputy commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), spoke on his behalf.
Sukhia noted that he had not been keen on entering the race.
“Just a few months ago, I had no intention to run for Congress," Sukhia said. “But I fear our nation is on the brink of social, economic and political ruin. I am running for Congress to take part in the battle to preserve our American principles and way of life. I believe I would serve our district well, because I am the only candidate with a proven lifetime record of fighting for conservative principles. I want to know that when the foundations were under attack I did all I could to fight for the core American principles of personal and economic freedom, religious liberty, and personal responsibility."
Sukhia said that an event at the state Capitol with Franklin Graham earlier this year helped move him to enter the race.
“Franklin Graham urged Christians to prayerfully consider running for office,” Sukhia said.
Insisting “there’s something horribly wrong with the republic,” the new candidate warned that the nation was nearing political, social and economic “collapse.” Sukhia warned about the continued expansion of government.
“The state has co-opted the role of the individual, the family, the church, the synagogue, the community,” Sukhia insisted before turning his fire at Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. “In the midst of all this, an avowed socialist is running for president.”
Sukhia noted polls show more than 50 percent of voters 30 and younger are open to socialism and insisted this was not what the Founding Fathers intended. The new candidate stressed his support of religious liberty and limited government while opposing massive federal spending. Sukhia promised to help slash government regulations, opposed President Barack Obama’s health-care law and said the national debt had spiraled out of control. Sukhia also said he would “staunchly defend” the Second Amendment.
Showcasing his record, Sukhia noted he had prosecuted criminals and terrorists and would continue to battle terrorism. Pointing to the terrorist attacks on Brussels earlier in the day, Sukhia vowed to ramp up efforts against Islamic State (ISIS) forces and other terrorist groups.
“This is now on our doorstep,” Sukhia said, insisting terrorism remained a domestic threat as well as an international one.
Turning to illegal immigration, Sukhia said he was for enforcing current laws and securing the border.
“We must seal the borders, stop the flow of illegal immigrants,” he said.
Sukhia slammed congressional Republicans for continuing to fund Planned Parenthood and noted he had taken that group on in court over Florida’s Parental Notice of Abortion Act. The new candidate called the Roe vs. Wade decision “infamous.”
Asked about the presidential race, Sukhia said he wasn’t endorsing anyone but said he would support the Republican nominee, saying he preferred businessman Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio.
Asked by Sunshine State News about Common Core, Sukhia said he “opposed Common Core” and said it was an example of federal overreach.
The new candidate joins three other hopefuls already running for the Republican nomination to challenge Graham. Dr. Neal Dunn, a surgeon from Panama City, has been in the race for months. So has Tallahassee attorney Mary Thomas. Businessman Jeff Moran, a former police officer from Live Oak, entered the race last month.
After the latest round of congressional redistricting, this district is far more favorable to the Republicans than it had been under the old map. Under the new map, the district takes all of Bay, Calhoun, Dixie, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Jackson, Lafayette, Levy, Liberty, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington counties, less than half of the population of Leon County, most of Columbia County and fractions of the populations of Marion and Jefferson counties.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
