Tallahassee’s next Mayor will almost certainly be a Democrat, but that isn’t stopping Republicans in Florida’s capital city from campaigning against Jeremy Matlow, widely viewed as the most progressive candidate in the mayoral race.
Matlow, a sitting City Commissioner, has spent the last several years sparring with incumbent Mayor John Dailey, a centrist Democrat. Matlow has criticized City Hall for being too heavily influenced by outsiders and special interests.
The Capital Young Republicans took to Instagram on Friday to highlight their canvassing efforts against Matlow, which includes distributing mailers urging voters to “protect Tallahassee from (New York Mayor Zohran) Mamdani socialism.” The flyers also describe Matlow as a “radical socialist” and tie him to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and other left-wing national Democrats.
Matlow responded by reposting the video for his followers. He also offered the following comment to Florida Politics:
“Democrats in Tallahassee will see through the political smears, $2 million in attacks and the Republican Party’s efforts to impact our elections. Our party deserves better than consultants and candidates that are willing to sell out our values for personal gain.”
The figure Matlow refers to comes from a story published this week by the Tallahassee Democrat estimating political action committees have spent nearly $2 million on the mayoral contest, much of it directed against his campaign.
That includes spending from conservative groups tied to longtime GOP political operative William Stafford Jones, a former Alachua County Republican Executive Committee Chair. Disclaimers on other anti-Matlow mailers list the Leon County Republican Executive Committee as their funding source.
Neither the Leon REC nor the Capital Young Republicans responded to requests for comment or named their preferred candidate in the race. Other candidates in the field include former state Sen. Loranne Ausley and civil rights lawyer Daryl Parks, both Democrats.
IT entrepreneur Michael Foust is running as a Republican but has spent very little money and barely registered in polls. Ausley leads the field according to the limited available polling, running 5 points ahead of Matlow and 15 points ahead of Parks, though nearly a third of the electorate was still undecided in mid-July.
The crosstabs of that poll showed Matlow narrowly leading Ausley among Democrats, but trailing her heavily among Republicans, just 7% of whom supported his campaign.
GOP voters are significantly outnumbered in Leon County, and their disadvantage is even more pronounced in Tallahassee city limits. While they are too small of a minority to elect a Republican Mayor, they are a big enough bloc to tip the outcome of intra-party Democratic fights.
In 2022, County Commissioner Kristin Dozier challenged Dailey from his left, edging him out in first-round voting before coming up short in a November runoff. With Dailey opting not to seek a third term, the left wing of the party hopes to see a different outcome this year.
The Primary is Tuesday.