Ford O’Connell (R) announced he will run for the open House District 77 seat.
“My family and I have lived in Southwest Florida since 2012,” he said but he does NOT live in District 77
In 2020, O’Connell briefly ran for an open congressional seat in Southwest Florida but dropped out shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A surrogate for former President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2020, the lawyer has appeared on conservative media outlets including Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Radio and Newsmax.
Tiffany Esposito (R), president and CEO of SWFL Inc., announced her candidacy in March. And does not live in the district either.
Democrat Eric Engelhart has also filed for the seat and he is the candidate that lives in district 77.
Under the new House map (H 8013) passed by the Legislature, HD 77 is contained entirely within Lee County and covers its southwest portion primarily south of Palm Beach Boulevard and west of U.S. 41, sans the city of Fort Myers. It covers the communities of Lehigh Acres and San Carlos Park.