Ralph Massullo gets his opening

Nothing like a little politics to awaken a sleepy summer day.

To no one’s surprise, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed our state senator, Blaise Ingoglia, as Chief Financial Officer. The previous CFO, Jimmy Patronis, is now a congressman from the Panhandle. He replaced Matt Gaetz, who is not the Attorney General, but resigned from Congress anyway.

All caught up?

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Also, to no one’s surprise, former Rep. Ralph Massullo jumped in the race to succeed Ingoglia in Senate District 11. The governor will call a special election, and the winner will serve until the 2026 election.

Unknown if Massullo will be opposed, or by whom. You’d think four terms in the House would send a message to serious challengers (expect a retread candidate or two).

This is one of those political geek subjects that I used to spend hours on the bar stool dissecting. No bar stools here at the World Headquarters, so let’s just roll through it.

First off, the DeSantis-Ingoglia-Massullo trifecta was my first big political blog issue. Let’s go back to 2022. Sen. Wilton Simpson was about to run a very successful race for Agriculture Commissioner. Two state reps at the time — Massullo and Ingoglia — prepared for a head-to-head battle at the ballot box to follow Simpson.

Two things to know even back then. Massullo, while generally regarded as an all-around solid Republican, wasn’t Republican enough for the governor.

Second, Ingoglia and DeSantis walk the same walk and talk the same talk. They’re buds.

Still, it was a little shocking when DeSantis muscled his way into the primary to support his pal Blaise, leaving Massullo without a dance partner.

Within hours, Ingoglia was running for Senate with no real opponent, and Massullo was left with his next move. He went for re-election with the governor's blessing, easily defeating two opponents who might have had a decent chance breaking 35% in a race without an incumbent, but against Massullo they were both toast.

Now, dial that back even further. Thinking that Massullo was moving on, the House seat caught the attention of several candidates, including Rebecca Bays and JJ Grow. When Massullo stayed in the House race, that left both Bays and Grow with a dilemma. Run against Massullo, or take a pass.

Neither would ever run against Massullo. Grow immediately dropped out and threw his support for the incumbent. Bays took a little time, but she too eventually dropped out of that race and ran instead for County Commission, where she now serves.

Grow waited two years, shored up his already stellar Citrus County and Dunnellon relationships, and found himself alone in the 2024 Republican primary when challenger Tod Cloud lost his ballot spot over a signature snafu. Grow then easily won the general election.

I’ve often wondered if Bays regrets her path. Rather than wait two years as Grow did, essentially giving us the same race in 2024 that we expected in 2022, she went for County Commission and easily won.

Now the Legislature ship has sailed. Too bad, because Rebecca always seemed more of the big picture legislative type than someone whose job includes patching potholes. 

How does this play out in 2026? Well, for one, Cloud will be on the Republican ballot for House District 23. You can bank on that. Not sure it matters. The race will be Grow’s to lose, and he’d have to pull off a nightmare of Prendergast proportions to blow this one.

As for Massullo, well, we’ll have a special election here soon unless no one opposes him for the Senate. The winner serves until the 2026 election.

And that’s your political geek wrap for the day. Have a great one, friends.

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