Energy was high Tuesday night at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Palatka as election results confirmed that Judson Sapp (R) won the Florida House District 20 race in a landslide, beating opponent Tony Connolly (D) with more than 75% of the vote.
“I’m very excited,” said the political newcomer, “and mostly just anxious to get to work for the people.”
Sapp ran for the seat being vacated by incumbent, Bobby Payne (R) of Palatka. Payne had served four terms, including the time he represented District 19 before the maps were redrawn in 2022, and was not able to run again due to term limits. As redrawn, District 20 covers Putnam County and parts of Clay, Marion and St. Johns counties,
In 2022, Payne won 77% of the vote in the Republican primary election for Florida House District 20. He also won that November’s general election race, which was uncontested.
While this is Sapp’s first time being elected to office, it’s not his first time trying. He ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 3 in 2018 and 2020.
Sapp was born and raised in Green Cove Springs and earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University. He has served as chief executive officer of W. J. Sapp and Son, Inc. for 14 years. The company specializes in railroad construction, maintenance and improvement.
During his campaign, Sapp said he planned to hit the ground running, is looking forward to representing the people of District 20 in Tallahassee and making change.
“The goal is to serve the people as best as possible,” he said. “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, business and development. That's an area that I want to focus on.”
He said his experience as a successful businessman sets him apart from Florida legislators.
“It's usually a rarity,” he said, “and I'm happy to bring that to Tallahassee.”
Sapp credited his aggressive campaigning with securing him the election. According to Sapp, he and his team spent this campaign season sending out mailers, calling and texting people and holding events to encourage people to “get out and vote.”
Though this is Sapp’s first time in office, he said he already has a plan to stay accountable to the people of District 20.
“I have a very good policy of trying to talk to everybody that wants to actually talk to me,” he said. “I have never stopped going to events and trying to do my best to meet people. That's what you want to do, just be accessible to people.”
Sapp beat out Connolly in campaign spending by over 250 times. Sapp spent $160,050.53 compared to Connolly’s $639.40 spent. Sapp’s spending is an increase from the 2022 election cycle where Payne spent $155,770.19.