Incumbent Florida State Representative Reggie Fullwood, who was first elected to the legislature in 2010, failed to successfully qualify for re-election today. A clerical error on the Jacksonville Democrat’s qualifying forms came very close to costing him his seat in Tallahassee.
Luckily for the incumbent, no other candidates had stepped up to run against him as of the deadline at noon on Friday. Had anyone else actually filed for the race, even to run as a write-in, Fullwood would be out of a job come January.
A public notary failed to check a box, invalidating Fullwood’s required financial disclosure form. The state legislator learned of the error on his paperwork only minutes before the deadline and without any physical way to reach Tallahassee in time to correct the mistake.
“It’s an honest mistake,” Fullwood told the News Service of Florida. “I’m fortunate no one else was running.”
As of right now, with no candidates in the race, the state will call a special election to coincide with the general election this November. A new qualifying period will open and Fullwood has pledged to make certain that all of his ducks are in a row this time around.
“We’ll get it right this time,” said Fullwood. “We’ll literally make sure the boxes are checked.”
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