Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan filed for re-election April 16, and a potential Republican challenger said he was considering a run.
Within hours of each other, Deegan issued a news release and video announcing her filing, while state House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, told reporters he was “thinking about and praying about” seeking the office.
Duggan made his comment while announcing $3 million in funding from the state Department of Children and Families for Northwest Jacksonville, including $2 million for the Beaver Street Enterprise Center.
Responding to a question from a reporter about whether he was considering a challenge to Deegan, Duggan said, “today is not about that” but added his comment about thinking and praying about a run.
The event involving Duggan was at Kings Road Memorial Park, where other leaders in attendance included Jacksonville City Council member Ju’Coby Pittman and Sheriff T.K. Waters.
Deegan defeated Republican Daniel Davis in 2023, becoming Jacksonville’s first woman mayor and the second Democrat elected to the office since 1993.
In the release, her campaign said Deegan made “tangible progress on neighborhoods, public safety, affordability, and a surge in economic development that is transforming downtown Jacksonville.”
Duggan served four two-year terms in the Legislature after winning election in 2018.
Other Republicans who have been mentioned in the media and in political circles as possible candidates for mayor include Council members Rory Diamond and Ron Salem.
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland, who had stated he was considering a mayoral campaign, filed April 10 for re-election to the elections position.