A county where there are more registered Democrats than Republicans shows a huge dominance in votes in favor of Republicans.
Republicans just won a special election victory in Jacksonville, Florida.
On Tuesday, Republican Nick Howland flipped a Democratic seat on the Jacksonville City Council, winning the Special Election for the at-large Group 3 seat vacated by the passing of Tommy Hazouri.
Howland’s win flips party control of the seat and adds to the local GOP’s now 14-member supermajority control of the 19-member Council.
News4Jax reported.
“Republican Nick Howland on Tuesday night clinched the necessary number of votes to take the City Council At-Large Group 3 seat. At about 7:45 p.m., with 196 of 199 precincts reporting, Howland maintained a strong lead over his opponent, Democrat Tracye Polson. Howland’s lead was greater than the remaining number of votes left to tabulate according to data from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections’ website.”
“At just before 10:30 p.m., all precincts were reporting and all mail-in and early votes had been counted. Howland won with 51.69% of the vote to Polson’s 48.31%. The seat was left vacant when Tommy Hazouri, who was a former council president and mayor, died in September,” the outlet added.
“It’s an exciting night. We anticipated we’d do well, but we did better than we expected,” Howland said. “It means our message resonated, which is a strong support for public safety. creating jobs and investing in every neighborhood in Jacksonville.”
Howland made an immediate response after being asked what was the first thing he hopes to accomplish in office:
“Immediately we’re going to be faced with looking at the budget. I want to help the sheriff figure out how he’s going to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe.”
Nick Howland has claimed the position of City Council seat for at-large Group 3 pic.twitter.com/riEoFk3AGn
— Kristen Rary (@KristenRary) February 23, 2022
Congratulations to the newest member of the Jacksonville City Council, Nick Howland. @NickHowland15 won yesterday’s special election for a vacant At-Large seat that serves the entire City. Mr. Howland, we look forward to your help leading our great City into the future. pic.twitter.com/JFvqVe4gOk
— City of Jacksonville (COJ) (@CityofJax) February 23, 2022
While this was a local victory, all signs have pointed to Republicans performing well in the November midterms.
A conservative pollster released a survey on Tuesday saying voters appear to prefer GOP candidates over Democrats by nearly 13 points.
View Survey Here: Thetrafalgargroup/Survey
In addition, voters expect Republicans to keep the Biden administration in check, the survey from the Convention of States Action, working with the polling firm Trafalgar Group.
The poll also found that by far, voters are most concerned about law and order, border security, and potential Chinese aggression.
The Washington Times reported, citing the survey:
“GOP leaders have said they are optimistic about retaking the House and are hopeful they can tip the scales in the evenly divided Senate.”
Tuesday’s poll found that 54.4% of American voters prefer Republican candidates and 41.9% prefer Democratic ones, while 3.7% are undecided.
Pollsters said 81% of voters are confident that if Republicans win control of Congress in this year’s elections, they will follow through on vows to try to block or undo Mr. Biden’s policies.
The conservative group said the GOP risks losing its lead if leaders do not detail what they plan to do if they win control of Capitol Hill.
Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States Action said in a statement:
“It’s clear from this data that Republicans remain far ahead in this race, and if they win, voters believe they will deliver. However, these numbers also spell danger for Republicans. GOP leadership has not laid out clearly what they would do if they are elected, and voters feel very strongly about action being taken on issues from law and order to the border to inflation and the economy.”
“If voters get wind that their priorities are not being taken seriously, and lose confidence in Republicans to deliver, these numbers could shift dramatically,” he added.
According to the survey via the polling firm Trafalgar Group:
- The top issue for voters, by far, is law and order, with 8 in 10 respondents saying they believe police departments can be funded fully and prosecutors can be tough on criminals while still dealing with officers who abuse their authority;
- Nearly 70 percent said they believe China is a rising threat to U.S. national security;
- Roughly two-thirds of respondents cited the porous southwestern border, which has seen record numbers of illegal migrant contacts since Biden took office, as a top issue — saying illegal crossers should be returned to their home countries and the border secured;
- 62 percent said that the U.S. can produce oil and natural gas without harming the environment;
- 56 percent said the dramatic influx of fentanyl coming across the southwestern border from China is the top factor in overdose deaths.
Sources: Conservativebrief, News4Jax, Washington Times
