St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee unveils new headquarters

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In preparation for the upcoming 2018 midterm election, the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee held an open house Friday, Oct. 5 to officially unveil its new headquarters at 2155 Old Moultrie Road in St. Augustine.

“We were just extremely fortunate to get 2,800 square feet that’s laid out in a perfect configuration for running a political party,” said Jerry Cameron, chair of the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee. "We’ve got a phone bank room, a reception area … and this looks to me more like a state or national headquarters than a REC headquarters.”

St. Johns County Commissioner Jimmy Johns and Florida Rep. Cyndi Stevenson were on site to celebrate the occasion, as was Lt. Col. Michael Waltz, the Republican candidate for Florida’s Congressional District 6 seat, which was recently vacated by Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis.

Waltz, a combat decorated Green Beret who led the search for Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl following his desertion, stressed that Republicans should not get complacent going into this year’s election.

 “A lot of people think, ‘Oh, it’s Ron DeSantis’ seat. You made it through the primary, Mike. Great job,’ but the Dems are coming after this seat,” he said, highlighting Florida’s status as a key swing state in presidential elections and the tentative nature of the Republicans’ current control of the House of Representatives.

“I plan to fully support the Commander in Chief,” he added, “and I’m telling you, if we lose the House, it’s going to be impeachment, open borders, abolishing ICE, repealing the tax cuts and going to socialized medicine. That’s Nancy Pelosi’s agenda and I’m not going to let that happen.”

Alluding to the contentious governor’s race between DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum, Waltz also stressed the importance of maintaining Republican control at the state level, stating: “We’ve all seen what Ron is facing with Gillum, a socialist. Straight up, (Gillum) runs to the left of Bernie Sanders, and (DeSantis) has got a fight on his hands and I have a fight on my hands. You all are the ground troops in this fight for our country, and I couldn’t be more honored to be on your team.” 

Stevenson, who is running for re-election to State House District 17, agreed with Waltz that Republican complacency in November could mean disaster for both Florida and the country. 

“We need the cabinet, we need the governor and we need Mike Waltz in our Congress,” she said. “We can’t afford to lose DeSantis as our governor and lose an ally for Trump in Washington. (Democrats) are specifically targeting Republican state legislatures for this very reason. … We’re seeing growth like we’ve never seen before, but we should not take it for granted because we’re comfortable.”