BREAKING: Shoaf wins Republican primary for House District 7 seat

Posted on April 10, 2019

While cruising to a more comfortable win for the State House District 7 seat district-wide, Jason Shoaf edged out fellow GOP candidate Mike Watkins by just five votes among Taylor County voters in Tuesday’s special election Republican primary.

Shoaf, a small business owner from Port St. Joe, garnered 515 votes (35.6%) in Taylor County, while Big Bend Community-Based Care CEO Mike Watkins pulled in 510 (35.3%).

Former Homestead mayor and current Sneads city manager Lynda Bell received 327 (22.6%) of the local votes cast, while Virginia Fuller, a registered nurse born and trained in Holland who recently relocated to Taylor County, finished with 93 votes (6.4%) from Taylor County voters.

While the four-person race was extremely tight in Taylor County, early results from the sprawling 10-county House District 7 showed Shoaf winning by a much more comfortable margin.

As of 8:20 p.m. – according to early unofficial results district-wide – Shoaff was receiving 49% of the votes cast, compared to 27% for Watkins, 19% for Bell and 5% for Fuller.

With all but one county (Franklin) reporting, Shoaf had received 4,427 votes (49.21%), followed by Watkins at 2,428 (27%), Bell with 1,738 (19.32%) and Fuller at 404 votes (4.5%).

The winner of the primary will advance to a June 18 special election to face the lone Democrat in the race, Ryan Terrell, a 26-year-old political activist from Tallahassee.

Taylor County had the highest voter turnout of the 10 counties in House District 7 with 29.44%, followed closely by Gulf County (28.56%), Jefferson (27%), Liberty (26.7%), Lafayette (26.64%), Madison (25.5%) and Wakulla (24.92%).

Voter turnout was heavier than expected locally, as nearly 30% of Republican voters cast a ballot in the special election to fill the seat vacated by Halsey Beshears, who was appointed to serve as Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation by Governor Ron DeSantis in January.

According to unofficial results, 1,447 out of the 4,908 registered Taylor County Republican voters cast their ballots.

Of those 1,447 registered Republicans, 490 voted by mail, 341 voted early and 616 had cast their ballots on Election Day.

More details on the candidates and unofficial results from the primary election are available on our website (www.perrynewspapers.com). Full coverage will be included in Friday’s Perry News-Herald.

The winner of the primary will advance to a June 18 special election to face the lone Democrat in the race, Ryan Terrell, a 26-year-old political activist from Tallahassee.

Shoaf was born and raised in Port St. Joe and is now raising a family in the community that shaped him.

He currently works at vice-president of St. Joe Natural Gas Company in Port St. Joe, which provides natural gas and propane services to homes and businesses in the region. He.

From a young age, Shoaf says his parents instilled in him the values of hard work, faith and personal freedom. His first job was piping homes and digging ditches, and he continued to work through high school and college before returning home to start his own business.

“I understand what it means to work hard and earn a dollar for a job well done,” Shoaf said. “I’m ready to stand up to the politicians and put small town values first in the Florida House.”

Shoaf began his career as a realtor and was named one of the “Top 30 Realtors Under 30” in 2006 by the National Association of Realtors, as well as being recognized by Tallahassee Magazine as “Best Realtor,” “Best Broker” and “Best Brokerage.”

Shoaf also served as vice-chairman of the Port St. Joe Port Authority, advocating on behalf of Gulf County and Port St. Joe businesses to enhance the economy and quality of life in the Northwest Florida region by fostering the growth of domestic and foreign commerce to provide jobs and economic opportunity.

Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Shoaf was appointed to serve on Triumph Gulf Coast, which works to help communities impacted by the oil spill recover and rebuild.

“Now, with so many families still struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, I stand ready to fight in the Florida House to ensure our communities rebuild better and stronger than ever before,” Shoaf said.

“I am a Christian, husband, dad and business owner — not a politician. I am a lifetime member of the NRA and 100% behind President Trump’s agenda to Make America Great Again,” Shoaf said. “With your help, we can give our families the local voice we deserve in the Florida House and work together to rebuild our communities and protect our values.”

Shoaf picked up endorsements from Madison County Sheriff Ben Stewart, Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison, Wakulla County Superintendent of Schools Bobby Pearce and Wakulla County Commissioner and Wakulla County Republican Party Chairman Ralph Thomas, who initially declared his intent to run for the seat, but later withdrew and threw his support behind Shoaf.

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