{"id":265887,"date":"2026-05-10T19:13:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/265887\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T19:13:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:13:12","slug":"2-southwest-florida-sheriffs-back-liesa-priddy-for-hd-82","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/265887\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Southwest Florida Sheriffs back Liesa Priddy for HD 82"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two of Southwest Florida\u2019s top law enforcement officers are lining up behind\u00a0Liesa Priddy in the House District 82 race.<\/p>\n

Collier County Sheriff\u00a0Kevin Rambosk\u00a0and Hendry County Sheriff\u00a0Steve Whidden have both endorsed Immokalee rancher Priddy. Their support adds two influential law enforcement voices to a campaign that has been gaining steady backing from local leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiesa Priddy has always supported professional law enforcement, and I appreciate her recognition of the importance of public safety in our community,\u201d Rambosk said. \u201cIt is without reservation, as well as my honor, to endorse Liesa Priddy in her 2026 campaign for the Florida House of Representatives District 82.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whidden was just as direct.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiesa Priddy is the kind of leader law enforcement needs in Tallahassee. She understands that keeping our communities safe isn\u2019t just a talking point \u2014 it\u2019s a daily commitment,\u201d Whidden said. \u201cLiesa has always stood behind the men and women who put on the badge, and she knows that strong public safety means giving law enforcement the resources, the support, and the backing to do the job right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Priddy is running to replace Rep.\u00a0Lauren Melo, who is seeking a Senate seat. She said public safety will be her top priority in Tallahassee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to accept the endorsements of both Sheriff Rambosk and Sheriff Whidden, and I am deeply grateful for their trust and confidence in my campaign,\u201d Priddy said. \u201cDefeating crime and keeping our neighborhoods, our businesses, and our schools safe is the most important responsibility of government \u2014 and must continue to be our first priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

These endorsements add to a long list of supporters for Priddy. She has also received backing from groups like the Florida Cattlemen\u2019s Association, Florida Dairy Farmers, Americans for Prosperity, Associated Industries of Florida, and the Florida Farm Bureau. Other supporters include current and former state representatives, local officials, and community leaders.<\/p>\n

Priddy and her husband Russell operate JB Ranch in Collier County. As a third-generation Floridian, she has served as a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioner and has earned several conservation awards, such as the Florida Cattlemen\u2019s Association Environmental Stewardship Award and the 2023 National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association Region II Environmental Stewardship Award.<\/p>\n

Priddy is running against three other Republicans in the Primary: Drew-Montez Clark, Bill Poteet, and Hugo Vargas. No Democrats have entered the race.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

House District 82 covers parts of Collier and Hendry counties and is a strong Republican district. In November, Melo was re-elected with nearly 70% of the vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two of Southwest Florida\u2019s top law enforcement officers are lining up behind\u00a0Liesa Priddy in the House District 82…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51975,114430,79507,81447,114431,46889,5926,891,114432,28,19308,114433,75837,15748,30,9129,29,4833,46890,29452,46891,114434,46892,29459,114435,114436,114437,114438,114439,46893,114440,114441,277,114442,114443,58654,114444,1521,114445,232,4006],"class_list":["post-265887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-adam-botana","tag-amanda-nelson","tag-americans-for-prosperity","tag-associated-industries-of-florida","tag-barbara-spratt","tag-bill-poteet","tag-collier-county","tag-conservation","tag-drew-montez-clark","tag-florida","tag-florida-cattlemens-association","tag-florida-dairy-farmers","tag-florida-farm-bureau","tag-florida-fish-and-wildlife-conservation-commission","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-house","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-politics","tag-hd-82","tag-hendry-county","tag-house-district-82","tag-howie-grimm","tag-hugo-vargas","tag-immokalee","tag-jb-ranch","tag-joe-spratt","tag-kevin-rambosk","tag-lauren-melo","tag-law-enforcement-endorsements","tag-liesa-priddy","tag-matt-hudson","tag-national-cattlemens-beef-association","tag-public-safety","tag-ramon-iglesias","tag-ranching","tag-republican-primary","tag-scott-schultz","tag-southwest-florida","tag-steve-whidden","tag-tallahassee","tag-yvette-benarroch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}