A vote for Reggie Fullwood actually will be a vote for Tracie Davis.
A Democratic party committee Tuesday evening unanimously selected Davis, a city compliance officer with prior candidate experience, to be the party’s nominee in the race for state House District 13.
“I’m ready to do this,” said Davis.
She opposed Fullwood in the August primary but fell short by a few hundred votes. Davis said Tuesday it was “almost heart-wrenching” to enter that race because Fullwood was a friend.
However, she said, it wasn’t about who was in the race, but the people of District 13 that covers Downtown, Arlington and San Marco among other areas.
Fullwood, who’s held the seat since 2010, decided to run again despite federal authorities in April announcing charges of wire fraud that stemmed from misusing his campaign account. He also faced charges for failure to file his federal income tax returns.
Davis’ nomination comes after the situation was resolved in recent days. Fullwood was suspended from office by House Speaker Steve Crisafulli on Friday, the same day Fullwood submitted his resignation letter.
He pleaded guilty Friday to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, and one count of failure to file, which is one year imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9.
State law allowed local Democrats to name Fullwood’s replacement for the race.
State Sen. Audrey Gibson nominated Davis, saying she believed a Democrat had to win the seat.
Given the dynamics of the district, there’s a good chance a Democrat will, said Michael Binder, faculty director of the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory. The district’s voting makeup is close to 2-to-1 Democrat.
“I can’t envision that seat going Republican,” he said.
Mark Griffin, pastor of Wayman Ministries, is the Republican on the ballot.
Although Fullwood’s name will be on the ballot as a Democrat, votes for him actually will go to Davis. Ballots already have been printed and some absentees already have been returned, said Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan. To help remedy the situation, notices will be placed at voting precincts and within voting booths alerting voters to the change due to Fullwood’s withdrawal.
Binder said such shifts this late in an election aren’t everyday occurrences, but Davis’ name recognition receives a boost from her past run for the post along with an attempt at supervisor of elections last year.
After being nominated, Davis said she was glad she took the step to challenge Fullwood in the primary and is now eager to take the next step to Tallahassee.
“I know I can win this race,” she said.
Davis said she has Fullwood’s support, too. She said she had a brief conversation with him in the past couple of days and he offered whatever support he could. Although she wanted him to show up Tuesday for the local Democrats nomination, he was not there.
Davis said she would soon open a campaign and begin fundraising and outreach efforts in the truncated period leading to the Nov. 8 election.
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