With the Republican Primary in the Special Election for Florida House District 32 in Brevard County less than two weeks away, over 1,800 absentee ballots have already been returned, and early voting begins on Saturday, March 22.
In a typical high-stakes, short-term primary election, controversy over inflammatory accusations has begun to escalate. Dr. Terry Cronin, local dermatologist and long-time national political operative for the American Academy of Dermatology, has recently begun to torque the pressure, throwing political spears at both Brian Hodgers and Bob White, alleging that both are never Trumpers and have arrest records.
A background check provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has confirmed that House District 32 candidate Brian Hodgers has no arrest record. Hodgers a small businessman in Melbourne has also been called a “never Trump by Terry Cronin, another claim that is false.
From the evidence Florida Daily has obtained, Bob White was, in fact, arrested and had some difficulties maintaining his contractors’ license due to some improprieties. But Bob White, who can be seen wearing Trump campaign attire at previous Trump rallies, has never been a “Never Trumper.”
Hodgers co-founded the Trump Club of Brevard and has been endorsed by them. Hodgers has also been endorsed by the Florida Chapter of Bikers for Trump and other conservative groups, such as MAGA Florida and Conservative Watch USA. As to being arrested, the Cronin camp has been using a very nebulous Lexis Nexis report to suggest that Brian was arrested for selling beer to a minor about 30 years ago. Upon closer inspection, the actual story involved a store clerk at one of Hodgers’ gas stations sold the beer, and as the station owner, Brian had to pay a fine. There was no arrest, no jail time, and no record.
“What you are seeing is Cronin is embracing the typical “burn-down-the-house” tactics of someone who appears to be down in the polls,” one GOP pollster familiar with the race told Florida Daily.
But Cronin should not be so quick to criticize. Cronin got himself into some early trouble with his campaign, allegedly falsifying some campaign documents to represent that he was living in the district when, in fact, he was not. Cronin has also been fairly hit for serving on the Board of Directors of an organization that has embraced transgender surgeries and puberty blockers. Combine this with the work that Cronin has done on institutionalizing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in the field of medicine.
“Here’s a guy who has taken positions out of sync with Trump, Vance, DeSantis, and the great majority of the GOP,” said a member of the local Brevard County Republican Executive Committee.
Some inside the local GOP clubs have suggested Cronin drop the negative attacks and tout his own record.
