by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Facing national and state elections where every vote is likely to count, Duval County Republican Party Chairman Mike Hightower thanked some of his party’s biggest local financial backers Friday for their help in getting voters to polls.
Hightower spoke at the Hyatt during the local party’s North Florida Lincoln Day Dinner. The annual fundraiser this year generated about $250,000 for the party, said Hightower. Hightower thanked his donors for already pushing Mayor John Peyton’s campaign account past a $1 million balance and for raising close to $1 million for school board candidates.
For the second straight year, some of the money raised in Duval County will be spread around to surrounding counties. It’s part of a “team Northeast Florida approach,” that has helped keep the region solidly behind the brothers Bush and their party, said Hightower.
“They have their system, they’ve been extremely skillful at getting out the vote and it’s worked for Jeb (Bush) and the president on four occasions,” said Hightower. “Fundraising hasn’t been as much a strength for them, so that’s our opportunity to be a partner to them.”
The support of surrounding counties like Clay, Baker, St. Johns and Nassau has been an essential component of the Republicans’ control over the governor’s office and the presidency going back to Gov. Jeb Bush’s election in 1998. Hightower pointed out that President George Bush beat challenger John Kerry in 2004 by just 383,000 votes.
“162,000 of those votes came out of those counties,” said Hightower.
Hightower wasn’t sure how much money would be sent outside of Duval, but he estimated at least a few thousand dollars. That’s enough to assist get-out-the-vote efforts, he said.
As part of the regional partnership, Hightower said he makes sure to invite the surrounding counties to events like the Lincoln Day Dinner. There were several county representatives in attendance Friday, he said.
The region’s support hasn’t escaped the notice of the White House, said Hightower. The Lincoln Dinner’s keynote speaker, Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney, made Jacksonville her only stop in the south. Cheney was a replacement for former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who recently resigned. The dinner also drew congressional members Ander Crenshaw and Cliff Stearns and gubernatorial candidates Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher.
“That happened (Cheney’s appearance) because the White House supports what we do here,” said Hightower. “Now we’ll do our part to return that favor by turning out the vote like we’ve done before.”