Lawson using TV push to reach CD5 voters

Today is decision day in the Democratic primary for the new Fifth Congressional District of Florida (CD5). Polls have shown former Florida Senate Democratic Leader Alfred “Al” Lawson running neck-and-neck with incumbent U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown. Both are graduates of FAMU.

During his tenure in the Florida Legislature Lawson is directly responsible for over a $500 million (a half billion) dollars in new construction and renovation projects at FAMU, including the Al Lawson Multipurpose Teaching Gym that bears his name, the recent renovation of Tucker Hall, and the construction of the new Pharmacy Building and Pharmacy phase II, construction of the School of Journalism building, and all three phases of SBI.

CD5 formerly ran north-south from Duval County to Orange County. But the new CD5 map approved by the Florida Supreme Court in 2015 runs from Duval to Gadsden Counties. CD5 remains a minority-access seat with about 45 percent black voters. 

On August 16th, Lawson picked up the endorsement of the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville,  Brown's hometown newspaper and the largest paper in the new congressional district.    

Florida Politics reports that “Brown, unlike Lawson, has not been on TV in Jacksonville.”

Lawson has been running a TV ad in Jacksonville and other parts of the district that introduces him to voters. It starts with his early life in Gadsden County and goes on to his entry into small business ownership and politics.