Fort Lauderdale attorney Jim Lewis cut ties to the Republican Party Tuesday and announced he would run as an independent in Florida’s attorney general race, mirroring a similar backlash toward party affiliations across the state and country.
Lewis, 52, a trial lawyer and former assistant state attorney from Orlando, said he saw the switch as his best chance for winning a race in which he is among the lesser known candidates.
“The extreme right isn’t always right, and the far left leaves common sense left out,” he said in a statement released by his campaign office in Fort Lauderdale. “We have serious issues to face here in Florida and we don’t have time for the same old party politics.”
He said that while he holds many conservative views, he opposes the death penalty and supports a woman’s right to choose. He is also adamantly opposed to offshore oil drilling and long prison sentences for drug offenses.
“I won’t run to the right to try to get the base of my party to support me,” he said. “A lot of folks came up to me at debates and said ‘we like you, but we can’t vote for you in the primary because we’re Democrats.’ ” Continue reading here.
