EXCLUSIVE: Trump supporter and former Sheriff David Shoar runs for Senate District 7
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Former St. Johns County Sheriff and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump David Shoar announced his candidacy for Florida Senate District 7 Thursday.
“I will stand with President Trump, as I did in 2016, and again in 2020, to stop illegal immigration, combat Biden’s inflation and get our insurance costs under control,” Shoar said in an exclusive statement to Florida’s Voice. “Together, we will restore a sense of law and justice in our country.”
Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, is the prime office seeker for that district, and now faces a new challenger in Shoar. The district encompasses Flagler, Putman and St. Johns County, and part of Volusia County.
Shoar served as sheriff of St. Johns County from 2004 to 2020. Before that, he was a police officer in St. Augustine, where he became the chief of police. He also served in the Gulf War.
“I am running for the Florida Senate because we need consistent conservative leaders who have the courage to stand for our shared values and fight back against the special interests and liberals who are destroying our country,” Shoar said. “This is no time for half measures.”
Shoar hosted Trump at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office during the final weeks of the 2016 election, when Florida was a pivotal swing state.
“I have dedicated my life to service in uniform, from the streets of St. Augustine as a patrolman, to the sands of Iraq as an Army Combat Engineer, to my 16 years as St. Johns County Sheriff,” he said. “I have always defended the Constitution. I am ready to take on the politicians and political insiders and hold them accountable.”
Shoar is a resident of St. Augustine and lives there with his wife, Laura. He is also a father and grandfather.
His campaign touted Shoar’s tough-on-crime stances as sheriff of St. Johns County, and he was chosen as the president of the Florida Sheriffs Association in 2014.
District 7 is currently represented by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast, who is term-limited.
As of June 6, there is only one other Republican in the primary for the district, Gerald James.
Florida’s primaries take place on Aug. 20.
