Local Republicans line up behind Anthony Bonna after his announcement of state House run
The first entrant into the 2026 race to represent District 85, which includes parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties, Bonna already has a number of notable names throwing their support behind him.
Co-hosting his first fundraiser — to be held Wednesday at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City — are a number of local elected officials.
The list includes all of Bonna's colleagues on the City Council — Mayor Shannon Martin, Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo, Councilwoman Sephanie Morgan and Councilman David Pickett — along with members of both the Martin and St. Lucie county commissions — Ed Ciampi, James Clasby, Jamie Fowler, Stacey Hetherington, Larry Leet and Erin Lowry. Also co-hosting are St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro, State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, Public Defender Diamond Litty, St. Lucie County Clerk of Court Michelle Miller and St. Lucie County School Board Member Troy Ingersoll.
The chairman of the Republican Party of Florida also recently took to social media in support of Bonna.
"My friend @anthonybonna has been a great part of the @FloridaGOP team! Excited to see him announce this run," party Chair Evan Power posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a statement on social media announcing his run, Bonna, who had been an elector for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, said he hopes to push for the president's agenda while in the Legislature.
"This campaign is about making sure we execute on President Trump's America First agenda here in Florida," Bonna wrote on Facebook. "That means bringing down costs, especially on property insurance, protecting school choice, growing our economy, investing in the critical infrastructure our area needs and standing strong against illegal immigration."
Before his 2021 election to the City Council in a special election, Bonna was once a St. Lucie County commissioner. He was appointed to the commission in 2018 by Gov. Rick Scott, but lost to Democrat challenger Sean Mitchell later that year. Bonna also has been the Republican committeeman for St. Lucie County since 2016 and currently chairs the state party's committeeman and committeewoman caucus.
More: Major developments to take place at Port St. Lucie's planned regional parks over next year
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Wicker Perlis is TCPalm's Watchdog Reporter for St. Lucie County. You can reach him at wicker.perlis@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Local leaders already backing candidate in 2026 House District 85 race
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