Bipartisan Group of 55 Florida Sheriffs Endorse Marco Rubio’s Senate Reelection Bid

JACKSONVILLE, Florida — A bipartisan group of 55 Florida sheriffs endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in his Senate reelection campaign for governor on Monday.

Speaking from the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront and flanked by several law enforcement officers, Rubio drew a sharp distinction between himself and his potential Democrat challenger Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), who served as the chief of the Orlando Police Department from 2007-2011, serving in law enforcement for 27 years.

“I’m a lawmaker, which means we pass laws. But then someone has to go out and enforce these laws. Someone has to go out and be the face of these laws and make them apply to the real world,” he began, pointing to the irony of his Democrat colleagues who pass these laws “then go home and criticize the people trying to enforce the laws they pass,” thereby injecting what the senator dubbed the “spirit of lawlessness” into society.

Rubio pointed to the massive crime wave, as well as the increase of the number of attacks on law enforcement.

“And I’m not just talking about shootouts at a traffic stop on someone who’s wanted on a warrant. I’m talking about ambushes. … because when you inject the spirit lawlessness in culture into society, you embolden the lawless,” Rubio said, noting that the men and women standing behind him have to respond to those calls.

The Florida senator said it is “especially sickening” when people who should know better support lawlessness, including “Chuck Schumer’s hand-picked candidate for U.S. Senate Val Demings.”

“She should know better. It’s even worse when someone who should know better decides to align themselves with this effort to call into question work law enforcement’s doing,” he said, noting that she “opposes” deporting illegal aliens after they commit crimes in the country as well.

“It’s inexplicable,” he said before criticizing cities and jurisdictions across the country that have opted to decriminalize certain behaviors such as theft under a certain amount of money.

“What do you think is going to happen when you tell people we aren’t going to arrest you if you do something. They’re going to do it,” he said, noting that Floridians are blessed to live in a state that is doing better in this regard because it does not have a governor or legislature that has gone “completely crazy.” He said there are plenty of people who would love to see Florida become California or New York “or some of these other places that have lost their mind and become deranged.” He said as long as he is senator, he will fight against that.

Overall, however, he said the endorsement “speaks to more than just politics. It speaks to the direction of the country.”

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one of the dozens of sheriffs endorsing Rubio, spoke at the press conference and drew a stark contrast between the situation in Florida and areas led by Democrat politicians.

“I want you to look around the nation. Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington, DC, Wisconsin. You didn’t see peaceful protests when they were burning buildings and smashing cars and injuring people,” he said.

“What you saw was lawlessness. Now, quite frankly, the reason those things occur in those communities is because of the rule makers. They allow that. It’s because of the community They allow that. Senator Rubio in this state has said no,” he added.

The 55 sheriffs endorsing Rubio include:

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

Rubio’s endorsement comes as Demings’ far-left colleagues continue to flirt with the Defund the Police movement as crime soars across the country. The current RealClearPolitics average shows Rubio leading Demings by nine percentage points.