Only 10 days after Democrat Amanda Murphy won House District 36, she has already drawn a GOP contender for next year’s election.
Attorney Jim Mathieu, chairman of the Pasco Republican Party, filed his candidacy for the House seat, reports Rich Shopes in the Tampa Bay Times.
This gives Murphy little time to enjoy her success in the Oct. 15 special election, where she replaced former Rep. Mike Fasano, who resigned to become Pasco’s tax collector. She was occupied with hiring a district aide and moving into Fasano’s old office in New Port Richey when she heard the news.
“I heard that,” Murphy told the Times, saying she was not quite surprised. “I had prepared myself that it would be immediate.”
A former interim city manager and city attorney, Mathieu lost the Republican special primary in September.
He is running again because he is familiar with the legislative process and understands the issues better than other elected officials.
“And I’m running because the last time the voters didn’t get a choice,” Mathieu said.
According to Mathieu, he was running against a well-funded candidate Bill Gunter, who spent thousands of dollars on advertising. Gunter won the primary since voters did not get to discover an alternative.
With 10 months until the primary, Mathieu’s filing means he can now begin fundraising.
“This will give me more time to put my message out there,” he told the Times.
