In Open House Seat, Everything is Coming Up Mike Haridopolos
Mike Haridopolos ran Florida's Senate; now, the epitome of a GOP team player has his sights set on Congress, and things are looking good before his primary this month
While the 2024 primary season is coming to a close, the GOP has a golden opportunity to add a team player to its ranks, and a combination of polls, fundraising, and endorsements suggests that the party will get its man.
In Florida’s 8th District, Rep. Bill Posey is retiring, and he backed Mike Haridopolos, a longtime Florida legislator who recently ran the state Senate for Republicans, to succeed him. In endorsing Haridopolos, Posey indirectly slammed several of the other Republicans running, who range from Trump haters to downright weird people.
“There are many people qualified to replace me. Unfortunately, until Mike Haridopolos committed to run, the other declared candidates were not among them,” Posey said. “For many years, Mike has served as my Congressional Finance Committee Chairman, while I have mentored him to replace me.”
Ahead of the state’s August 20th primary, Haridopolos also boasts a panoply of local and national endorsements, including from President Donald Trump, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Reps. Mike Waltz, Anna Paulina Luna, Speaker Mike Johnson, and many local officials.
“Mike Haridopolos is an extraordinary leader with an incredible legislative mind,” state Representative Randy Fine said shortly after Haridopolos launched his campaign. “I am so excited to be the first to endorse a fellow conservative to be my congressman. No one could serve our community better.”
Beyond the endorsements, Haridopolos is also raking in serious cash for a first-time House candidate. In July alone, he told me he’s raised around $250,000. His campaign has raised over $1,230,000 so far, he added, which doesn’t even include the approximately $100,000 he’s raised across other entities like his joint fundraising committee.
Haridopolos himself is well-regarded as a donor himself; he regularly cuts checks to House Republicans across the country, and many in DC expect him to immediately start fundraising not for himself after his primary, but for Republicans in seats far swingier than the one he’s running in.
Finally, Haridopolos is absolutely burying the field in the latest polls. One recent poll, conducted for his campaign, shows him lapping the field with 56% support. No other candidate cleared double-digits.
“Mike Haridopolos is not just a front-runner, he’s on his way to a decisive GOP victory,” Florida Politics wrote.
Just how big his win will be determined in a few short weeks.