FLORIDA FARM BUREAU LOOKS AHEAD TO NOVEMBER
As we all recover from the recent primary election, it is time to turn our attention to the November general election that will see four highly contested cabinet seats, several toss-up seats in the state House and Senate, and although we’re not exactly sure how many at this time, several constitutional amendments.
Adam Putnam’s loss in the Republican Gubernatorial primary was a big one for agriculture, as Commissioner Putnam has been a long-time champion for farm families as well as the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Additionally, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services thrived under his leadership, reaching record highs in funding for Fresh from Florida and the Rural and Family Lands conservation program.
Meanwhile, Florida Farm Bureau remains focused on electing pro-agriculture and pro-business candidates to the state Legislature as well as educating newly elected lawmakers on the importance of Florida agriculture and the role the industry plays in our state’s $1 trillion economy.
The cabinet races are now set as Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis will face the Democratic Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum. Republican Matt Caldwell will face Democrat Nikki Fried in the race for Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In the race for Chief Financial Officer, Republican Jimmy Patronis will face Democrat Jeremy Ring and the race for Attorney General will see Republican Ashley Moody face Democrat Sean Shaw.
Finally, there will be several constitutional amendments on the ballot. Since the time they were approved to appear on the November ballot, at least three of the thirteen amendments have been ruled by judges as too confusing for voters. Each of those three amendments are under appeal so they could still appear on your ballots this November. We will have more information on the constitutional amendments when we have a clearer picture of which will be allowed to appear on the ballot.
We look forward to keeping all of you updated on the election process and the upcoming general election over the next several weeks.
