Lakeland small business owner and conservative activist Ed Shoemaker has announced he will run for the Republican Party’s nomination to Congress in Florida’s 15th Congressional District. Shoemaker’s candidacy brings the field of candidates to four in the race to replace outgoing Republican Congressman Dennis Ross, who has served in Washington since 2013. The 15th District, which encompasses areas of Hillsborough and Polk Counties, has been firmly in the grasp of the Republican Party since 1995, when Dave Weldon’s victory kicked off over two decades of Republican dominance. In addition to solid Republican performances in Congressional elections, the 15th District has been reliably red at the Presidential level, more recently sending Donald Trump to the White House by over 17 points in 2016.
Shoemaker, who describes himself as a conservative, has spent his life helping others as a mental health professional, spending 26 years alongside his wife Tonya working in his community to make positive changes through education, mental health, and child welfare avenues, as well as serving at their local church. Additionally, he serves as a Republican State Committeeman in the Florida GOP. It are these experiences, as well as a lifelong penchant for conservative activism, that Shoemaker and his supporters believe set him apart from the rest of the Republican field. Waging a grassroots style campaign, Shoemaker seeks to involve the community he so loves in his run for office, and to go to Washington with his fellow Floridians and Americans at the front of his mind.
A patriotic American and proud conservative, Shoemaker is not one to shy away from President Trump and the beliefs he holds dear; in fact, it is quite to opposite. Embracing the Trump agenda and the restoration of the United States, Shoemaker believes the time is now to take Washington by storm, drain the swamp, and help to bring in a new generation of conservative legislation, securing the existence of yet another American century. In the wake of President Trump’s devastating defeat of Hillary Clinton in the 15th District, Shoemaker has told Politics Elections that he will ‘stand beside President Trump and his America first agenda to Make America Great Again.’
‘We need a conservative Republican in Congress that will protect and preserve America and her sacred values by protecting the Constitution of the United States and the American people’s God-given, unalienable rights,’ said Shoemaker. ‘A conservative Republican that will vote “NO” on legislation that goes against our Constitution.’
In declaring his candidacy, Shoemaker joins a nationally forming coalition known as the ‘Trump Caucus;’ an army of grassroots candidates running for election on America first platforms who refuse to give into to outside pressure, or tailor their long-term views for short-term gain. A straight shooter, Shoemaker looks to achieve success politically the same way he has achieved success in his personal life; by being himself.
