While he should expect to be challenged by a former law enforcement officer in November, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., announced this week that he had the support of 55 of the state’s 67 sheriffs.
Rubio and some of the sheriffs announced the endorsement at a media event in Jacksonville on Monday.
“I’m honored by this endorsement. This speaks to more than just politics, it speaks to the direction of our country,” Rubio said. “And I think this is a direction that is incredibly important and badly needed and that’s why I’m so grateful to be with all of them here today and I’m eternally grateful for your support. And you can continue to always count on mine.”
“When you inject the spirit of lawlessness in a culture and in a society, you only embolden the lawless. And in the end, the men and women standing behind me, and the men and women that work for them, are the ones that have to respond to it in a very difficult job,” Rubio added.
More than half a dozen minor candidates have filed to run against Rubio in the Republican primary so far. U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., who served in law enforcement for more than two decades, rising to become Orlando’s police chief, is the favorite to win her party’s nomination though she does face former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., former U.S. House candidates Al Fox and Allen Ellison and Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell in the primary.
The following sheriffs announced they were backing Rubio:
Sheriff Scotty Rhoden, Baker County
Sheriff Tommy Ford, Bay County
Sheriff Gordon Smith, Bradford County
Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Brevard County
Sheriff Glenn Kimbrel, Calhoun County
Sheriff Bill Prummell, Charlotte County
Sheriff Mike Prendergast, Citrus County
Sheriff Michelle Cook, Clay County
Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, Collier County
Sheriff Mark Hunter, Columbia County
Sheriff James Potter, DeSoto County
Sheriff Darby Butler, Dixie County
Sheriff Mike Williams, Duval County
Sheriff Chip Simmons, Escambia County
Sheriff Rick Staly, Flagler County
Sheriff Bobby Shultz, Gilchrist County
Sheriff David Hardin, Glades County
Sheriff Mike Harrison, Gulf County
Sheriff J. Harrell Reid, Hamilton County
Sheriff Vent Crawford, Hardee County
Sheriff Stephen Whidden, Hendry County
Sheriff Al Nienhuis, Hernando County
Sheriff Paul Blackman, Highlands County
Sheriff Chad Chronister, Hillsborough County
Sheriff John Tate, Holmes County
Sheriff Eric Flowers, Indian River County
Sheriff Donald Edenfield, Jackson County
Sheriff Mac McNeill, Jefferson County
Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, Lake County
Sheriff Carmine Marceno, Lee County
Sheriff Bobby McCallum, Levy County
Sheriff Buddy Money, Liberty County
Sheriff David Harper, Madison County
Sheriff Charles Wells, Manatee County
Sheriff Billy Woods, Marion County
Sheriff William Snyder, Martin County
Sheriff Bill Leeper, Nassau County
Sheriff Eric Aden, Okaloosa County
Sheriff Noel Stephen, Okeechobee County
Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County
Sheriff Grady Judd, Polk County
Sheriff Gator DeLoach, Putnam County
Sheriff Robert Johnson, Santa Rosa County
Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, Sarasota County
Sheriff Dennis Lemma, Seminole County
Sheriff Robert Hardwick, St. Johns County
Sheriff Bill Farmer, Sumter County
Sheriff Sam St. John, Suwannee County
Sheriff Wayne Padgett, Taylor County
Sheriff Brad Whitehead, Union County
Sheriff Mike Chitwood, Volusia County
Sheriff Jared Miller, Wakulla County
Sheriff Mike Adkinson, Walton County
Sheriff Kevin Crews, Washington County
