The face-off on Nov. 5 for the state representative in Florida House District 20 features Democrat Tony Connolly and Republican Judson Sapp, two Florida businessmen who have not been elected to office before.
The newly redrawn district includes Putnam County and parts of Clay, Marion and St. Johns counties.
They are vying for the seat that the incumbent, Republican Bobby Payne of Palatka, was ineligible to run for again due to term limits stemming from his prior years of service representing District 19.
Meet the candidates asking for your vote.
Tony Connolly
Connolly, 56, is the owner of a mobile vehicle-detailing business and was chair of the Putnam County Democratic Executive Committee before stepping down to run for office.
Unlike his opponent, this is Connolly’s first time running for office. He said that he’s running for office because he wants to make a difference.
“You don't get to choose your moment in time to stand up and make a difference the moment chooses you,” he said.
He’ll represent everyone, Connolly said, including people on the other side of the aisle.
“I just want somebody — anybody — that represents the people, my family, and my friends here,” he said. “They’re all Republican, and I feel like they're all getting screwed over when there's nobody actually representing them.”
Connolly said the issues he would focus on are lowering insurance rates, transportation reform and providing free school meals.
“I'm like everybody else, working and struggling to pay all my bills and insurance rates are through the roof,” he said. “That's one of our biggest concerns.”
Connolly said transportation reform is a priority to him since his mother was killed in a train accident. He said he would work to get all railroad crossings to be protected by crossing arms.
“The cost of crossing arms is not that much,” he said, “and no one ‘s mother had to die.”
Connolly said he also has a personal connection to free school lunches.
“I was one of those kids,” he said, “that went to high school and went hungry.”
Connolly said he was unable to afford lunches and only got food when friends would buy food for him.
“The kindness of their hearts is the only reason I didn't go hungry at school,” he said. “I can't believe that there's any people in office that are against” free lunches.
Connolly said his working-class background and his personal connection to the issues he’s fighting for set him apart from Sapp.
“I'm not a millionaire,” he said. “I work, and I struggle.”
Judson Sapp
Sapp, 47, lives in Green Cove Springs and has been the CEO of W. J. Sapp and Son, Inc. for 14 years. The company specializes in railroad construction, maintenance and improvement. He said that he wants to use the knowledge that comes with being the owner of a small business to help protect other Florida small business owners.
“Business is the backbone of America,” he said. “I've seen time and time again, especially with a small business community, the representation is not there, and the understanding of our needs isn't there.”
Sapp ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 3 in 2018 and 2020. He did not win either time.
He said his experience as a successful businessman sets him apart from not only the other candidate running, but most Florida legislators.
“It's usually a rarity,” he said, “and I'm happy to bring that to Tallahassee.”
Sapp said he hopes to use his experience to fight for small businesses throughout the state.
There have been bills passed in Tallahassee, Sapp said, that have hurt small businesses, consequences caused by the lack of expertise on the issues. He said one of his first priorities in office would be working to remedy that.
“I think we can better serve the people by trying to remove a lot of the laws that are in place that have stifled growth and business,” he said. “I'd rather fix those before a bill goes into law.”
Beyond his “pro-business” stance, Sapp said that state legislators need to make it easier and more financially accessible for people to be able to afford insurance to protect their homes. He said rising insurance rates is the hardest issue facing Floridians today.
“It's unfortunately probably going to get worse, and it's going to be a hard problem to tackle,” he said.
The first area related to insurance that he would look into is lowering rates and allowing Floridians to update their homes to reduce the risk for the insurance companies.
“We’re going to have to have smart people and dedicated people trying to find solutions that allow people in Florida to stay in their homes,” he said.