A Tampa political consultant connected to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the county's top cop isn't part of a "Draft Marceno" for Congress effort.
A website paid for by American Heritage, a federal political action committee, is promoting Marceno for the 19th Congressional District seat being put up for grabs by the gubernatorial candidacy of Byron Donalds.
"Although we don’t know anything about this “Draft Marceno” text, It’s not a surprise people are wanting to see him continue to represent their values and voices in Congress," the consultant, Anthony Pedicini, said in response to a text query from WGCU.
Pedicini added that "The sheriff is enjoying the greatest job he’s ever had. He loves President Trump and fully supports his agenda. His record of accomplishments is second to none: Crime has NEVER been lower and LCSO has an unheard-of 100 percent homicide solve rate in '24 and in '25."
Pedicini said that, after polling that was released a month ago, "Marceno holds his own political future in his own hands. The people of Southwest Florida love and respect their sheriff immensely and he loves them even more!”
Pedicini was referring to internal polling that put Marceno as a front-runner if he would enter a race for Florida’s 19th District.
More
- Florida Trident report/Hatchet man: Campaign consultant Anthony Pedicini wins big with shady politics, shadier money
- ‘Stop the corruption’ rally takes place days after Marceno investigation closes
- Lee Sheriff Marceno speaks, says little about FBI investigation
Pedicini is also listed as a partner of SIMwins, LLC, a consulting firm.
Previous reports have listed committees paying SIMwins ranging from the Donald Trump-aligned Make America Great Again PAC to the Republican Party of Florida to the Friends of (Lee County Sheriff) Carmine Marceno.
A 2024 report by The Florida Trident said Pedicini's firm has counted among its individual clients former Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and a slew of state Legislators, including Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills), Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Miami), and Rep. Jennifer Canady (R-Lakeland), among many others.
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