Port St. Lucie Councilman Bonna Lands Huck PAC Blessing in HD 85 Race

Port St. Lucie City Councilman Anthony Bonna announced Friday that Huck PAC — the political committee founded by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, now serving as Donald Trump's Ambassador to Israel — is backing his Republican primary bid for House District 85.

The endorsement is the latest in a methodical accumulation campaign that has locked down nearly every major conservative stamp available in a Treasure Coast district. Bonna's backers now include former Gov. Rick Scott, who appointed Bonna to the St. Lucie County Commission in 2018; term-limited HD 85 incumbent Rep. Toby Overdorf; Americans for Prosperity Action; Associated Industries of Florida PAC; Florida Realtors PAC; and Florida Right to Life PAC, according to public records and campaign filings. Huck PAC named Bonna one of only two candidates in its latest endorsement slate, calling him a "pro-life champion" alongside Ohio U.S. Sen. Jon Husted.

"To receive the endorsement of Huck PAC is both humbling and encouraging," Bonna said in a written statement, crediting Huckabee's willingness "to speak openly about his faith and convictions for many years."

Bonna faces Republican primary challenger Thomas Colter ahead of the Aug. 18 primary election, but the deeper strategic question may already be shifting toward November. Democrat Wayne Richter, a Stuart criminal-defense attorney, filed for the open seat and reported raising $82,000 in his first month — an early haul that signals national Democratic interest in making the Martin-St. Lucie district competitive.

The seat has leaned Republican since Overdorf first won it in 2018, and HD 85 remains favorable terrain for Bonna. But Richter's fundraising pace is the kind of number that earns a district a place on outside groups' target lists. A general election without a clear national top-of-ticket anchor could tighten margins that Overdorf never had to sweat.

For Bonna, the Huck PAC endorsement reinforces the ideological lane he has staked — pro-life, fiscally conservative, law-and-order — and delivers another logo for campaign mail. In a primary decided more by turnout than persuasion, that consistency of brand is the point.

The general election is Nov. 3.

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