U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis will officially launch his re-election campaign on April 20.
The Palm Harbor Republican announced a kickoff tour, starting with a 9 a.m. event at Marguerita Grill in Homosassa.
He will continue to an 11:30 a.m. event in Brooksville at The Bistro. The tour moves to Holiday in the afternoon, with a 2 p.m. stop at VFW Post 10167.
Conservative radio host and civil rights lawyer Leo "2.0" Terrell will appear at stops with Bilirakis.
The Congressman in an official invite to supporters also touted his support from former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee for President.
"I'm proud to be endorsed by President Trump, and I look forward to working with patriots like you to Take America Back in this election," Bilirakis wrote in the email. "It's going to be a great event, and I hope to see you there!"
Bilirakis, who represents Florida's 12th Congressional District so far appears to have a clear path to re-election. Nearly 64% of voters in the district supported Trump for President in 2020. Bilirakis in 2022 won re-election in the district with about 70% of the vote over Democrat Kimberly Walker.
Of course, in a red district, a Primary challenge could prove a greater threat. But Bilirakis won 80% of the vote in a GOP Primary in 2022 with four GOP challengers.
This year, two potential Republican Primary challengers — James Judge and Brian Perras — recently shifted their plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee, a Republican running in Florida's 15th Congressional District.
Judge, when he switched races, said he thought Bilirakis' voting record had improved in Congress.
"In just six months, by shining a magnifying glass on my last opponent and holding him accountable, I was able to transform him from a D-rated Republican, a Congressman who voted about 60% of the time in-line with the Constitution, to a nearly A-rated conservative, who now aligns with the House Freedom Caucus," Judge said.
Two other Republicans still have open federal election accounts to challenge Bilirakis.
But Harry Dunlap through the end of 2023 had only raised $100 for the race, while Bilirakis closed the year with more than $461,00 in cash on hand. Jack Martin, the other candidate, has not reported any fundraising yet.
No Democrats or other candidates have filed for the federal office.
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