Fred Costello, twice defeated in his quest for a seat in Congress, will try, try again.
He's filed to run in Congressional District 6, which covers all of Volusia and Flagler counties, plus parts of St. Johns and Lake counties, and he's planning a full day of campaign kickoff events Saturday at five locations spanning the district.
Costello's announcement revs up a campaign year that looks to involve the area's current member of Congress, Ron DeSantis, in the Florida governor's race, plus the scramble to replace him in Washington.
Nancy Soderberg, who served under Bill Clinton as a United Nations appointee with the rank of ambassador, announced her bid in July. The Crecent Beach resident has marshalled fund-raising support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has targed the 6th District as one it aims to turn blue. Initially, anyway, she faces a challenge from Palm Coast resident Bob Coffman, an airline pilot and veteran who's running his first political campaign.
The majority-GOP seat will not go without a fight.
In addition to Costello, an Ormond Beach dentist, and Jeremy Kelly, a 28-year-old Palm Coast Iraq war veteran and "average person with true core values and not deep pockets," there are several other possible contenders, including:
Mike Waltz, a FOX News "insider" and onetime Bush administration policy advisor who previously commanded a Green Beret unit.
Brandon Patty, a U.S. Navy Reserve officer and veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom who ran for the seat for several months in 2016. He dropped out of the race when DeSantis — who had been running for the U.S. Senate — decided to seek re-election in the 6th District.
John Ward, a St. Johns County businessman and U.S. Navy veteran. Unlike Waltz and Patty, he has formally declared his candidacy.
None of those three responded to a request seeking comment.
Costello's case
Costello, 67, is a familiar face to voters in Volusia and Flagler counties, having won two terms in the Florida House of Representatives after serving on the Ormond Beach City Commission for 11 years, the final eight as mayor. He's an Air Force veteran.
And he's also twice been defeated in Republican primaries, in 2012 and 2016, by DeSantis.
The first time he had previously never heard of the attorney from Ponte Vedra Beach, before the district boundaries had been redrawn. "The second time I met Ron, I said if I lose to anybody else in this race, I'm going to be disappointed, but if I lost to you, I feel like we're going to be well-represented," Costello said in an interview this week.
In 2016, the Congressional seat appeared to be open, as DeSantis was running for the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by Marco Rubio, who lost to Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primary. At the last minute, Rubio decided to seek re-election, DeSantis returned to his Congressional race, and Costello was faced with a choice: Run for Congress and, most likely, lose, or run for re-election in Florida House District 25 and break a promise to Tom Leek, then seeking that office.
Again in 2018, with DeSantis planning a run for governor, Costello sees an opportunity.
He's planning to seize it by marshaling support from as many local officials as possible. His campaign kickoffs will include support speeches by Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley, Sheriff Mike Chitwood, state Rep. David Santiago, Flagler County Commissioner Nate McLaughlin and mayors Milissa Holland of Palm Coast and John Masiarczyk of Deltona, among others.
National money, local votes
Costello said 64 percent of the Republican primary voters are in Volusia County, while another 16 are in Flagler County. Yet DeSantis, when he first ran, lived in Ponte Vedra Beach and much of his campaign war chest came from sources beyond the 6th District.
It remains to be seen whether Costello or another GOP candidate can attract big money from either inside or outside the district. But Costello argues it's time for a person with closer local ties to serve the 6th.
"It's time that the Volusia-Flagler area have our own member of Congress, whether that's Fred Costello or somebody else. That's up to the voters, but we don't need people coming from as far away as Washington, D.C.," Costello said, mentioning Waltz and Soderberg by name. "I'm not being demeaning, but we have some sharp people here. We don't need people coming here and trying to buy a seat in Congress."
Soderberg moved to a part of St. Johns County that's inside District 6 prior to entering the race in July. And by getting an early start, Soderberg was able to amass more than $336,000 in campiaign contributions through the end of the third quarter, the vast majority of that coming as individual contributions. However, just 27 percent of those donors are from Florida and only 5 of her 433 donors live in Volusia or Flagler counties, records show.
Meredith O'Malley, a spokeswoman for Soderberg, said the campaign has been able to continue to attract money both from inside and outside the district and will be announcing a strong fourth quarter later this month.
"Starting early was an advantage for her," O'Malley said. "She's had a lot of meetings."