Wyman Duggan outlines GOP strategy to make Donna Deegan a one-term Jacksonville Mayor

There’s less than a year until the First Election in Jacksonville’s 2027 mayoral race, and a prominent local Republican is bullish on his party’s chances to defeat Democratic incumbent Donna Deegan.

During an interview with Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power, House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan said mistakes that were made in 2023 — when Deegan defeated Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis with the help of crossover Republican voters — won’t be repeated.

For starters, unlike three years ago in the race to replace term-limited Lenny Curry, Duggan says there will be one major candidate running, not the three well-known names that did then.

“I firmly believe that the people who are considering running next time have all agreed that there needs to be one consensus candidate,” Duggan said.

Names linked with the race, in addition to Duggan himself, include Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland and City Council members Rory Diamond and Ron Salem.

Duggan noted that Republicans are closing the historic voter registration gap with Democrats in the city and credits party discipline with the effort.

“We are doing all of the things, the blocking and tackling, the ground game that is necessary, to win that registration battle. … In ’23, when the current Democratic Mayor was elected, that differential was 23,000-plus Dem. Now it’s 4,000,” Duggan said.

“I think that that election was decided with Republican votes, and we need to do the hard work of bringing those Republican voters home. And we’ve done that with the last budget where the Council fought tooth and nail to get a property tax reduction, which the Mayor fought tooth and nail to not do, on top of a record budget. So you know, I think the bottom lines are pretty clearly drawn for that upcoming race. And we’re going to do the hard work, no matter what it takes, no matter who the nominee is, to take that seat back.”

Six marginal candidates have already filed to run for the office, including three Republicans, two independents and one write-in. But despite the names on the ballot, none of these are who Duggan would consider the leading nominee.

For Deegan, the goal is to get more than half the vote in March 2027. If she fails to do that, the top two finishers advance to the General Election in May.