Florida’s U.S. Senate contest has another option, as Central Florida candidate Ben Everidge filed paperwork and qualified for his independent run for office.
“Floridians are looking at the darkening clouds of Sunshine State politics and wondering how in the world we got here and what the future holds these next years,” said Everidge. “Like you, I am deeply worried that American democracy is in grave peril — an immediate danger we cannot ignore.”
The Florida independent candidate took aim at both Republicans and Democrats.
“Too many of our elected officials – Republican and Democrat alike – have their heads in the sand when solving our major crises,” he said. “Their party is more important than the people they represent. The political extremes in Washington and Tallahassee hold average Americans hostage with polarization, parochialism, partisanship, paralysis, and overregulation.”
“As a consequence, Floridians are rightfully worried about where their next paycheck might come from – if at all – and how they will keep their families fed, safely housed, educated, and healthcare insured,” Everidge added. “Our borders are wide open, and illegal immigration is running rampant without any true immigration reform so that a nation of immigrants like ours can be productive, proud, and secure.”
The independent candidate also tried to appeal to Florida voters by touching on issues like climate change, foreign policy, infrastructure, and overall frustration with Congress.
“Climate change has been destructive to our homes and neighborhoods far too many times, and yet it is being ignored and even denied by our policymakers while wars are raging in too many parts of the globe. Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea rattle their sabers at us every day,” candidate Everidge said. “Couple these pressing issues with our roads, bridges, and infrastructure crumbling before our eyes and election deniers dismantling American democracy at home and abroad while embracing the natural enemies of America – the dictators and despots who would take away our freedoms and rights and our daily lives which are harshly over-regulated and often oppressed – there can be little wonder that Floridians are frustrated with a Congress that will do nothing to make our lives better.”
Florida Democrats are rallying behind Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the campaign against Republican Senator Rick Scott, but there are several other candidates running for the U.S. Senate seat.
Independent candidate Ben Everidge said he can “help end our do-nothing hyper-partisan national politics and protect our democracy and Florida from further harm,” clearly not happy with either major political party.
“As an independent – not a major party proxy – I can help leverage opportunity politically and find rational, reasonable, practical solutions for Floridians that they and their families can count on,” he said. “American democracy is a powerful tool when used correctly, and I am very confident that our best days are yet to come. American democracy is not dead. On the contrary, American democracy is holding firm. It will weather the storm of extremism and obstruction that we find in the halls of Congress today if motivated people step forward and demand change. It’s time to bring the sunshine back to Florida – we can do better if we get our heads out of the sand.”
66-year-old Everidge worked on Capitol Hill and in Florida for then-Congressman and now NASA Administrator and former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, then-U.S. Senator and the eventual late-Governor Lawton Chiles, and the influential House Committee on Energy and Commerce. He holds a Master of Arts degree in American government from Georgetown University and was named a prestigious University Fellow.
Everidge authored a 2017 political novel about an independent running in trying times, Hoya: The Watchmen Waketh. He says the book is a real-world political primer that provides hope for the future and lessons from the past to help us better understand the morass we may all encounter as democracy unfolds, challenges, and flourishes. A sequel, Hoya Saxa: Honor Among Grey Ghosts, is forthcoming – perhaps with insight from his current Senate run.
