The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is once again going to bat for U.S. Rep. David Jolly as he battles former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to hold his seat in Congress.
On Thursday, the Chamber officially endorsed Jolly.
“In today’s economy, it is critical that Members of Congress provide strong support of free enterprise and leadership for policies that will return the United States to its full potential,” said Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “Your record of support on pro-business issues earned this endorsement. We will encourage the business community to vigorously support your candidacy and will be in direct contact with our members and voters in your district promoting you as our candidate of choice.”
The group represents more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors and regions nationwide.
Jolly received a 97 percent approval rating from the Chamber last year, the highest rating of any national lawmaker in the Florida Congressional Delegation.
"I know that to encourage entrepreneurship and keep our economy strong, we must reduce bureaucratic red tape, reform our complex and ever-changing tax code and streamline a regulatory system that stifles growth,” explained Jolly.
The Chamber's endorsement comes at a crucial hour for Jolly, who has recently become the subject of intense attack ads from Democrats who have tried to link him to controversial Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
The Democratic Congressional Committee dumped another $433,000 into television ads against Jolly, bringing their total ad buy to $2 million for the CD13 race.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is one of the Republicans' strongest allies in elections. In the 2014 midterm elections, it gave $35 million to Republican candidates.
The group has already spent millions of dollars against other Democrats statewide like U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who is running for U.S. Senate against Marco Rubio.
Any outside support from the Chamber would be a boost to Jolly, who often mans his political ship without the help of groups typically supporting GOP nominees.
The National Republican Congressional Campaign, which often aids Republican candidates, has effectively shunned Jolly as a result of a fallout over a 60 Minutes segment where Jolly explained he refused to fundraise for the national party while working in Washington.
Sunshine State News contacted the Chamber to determine if it would be giving money towards Jolly's campaign, but the group had not responded at the time of this article's release.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
