Santa Rosa's sole Democratic Commission candidate drops out amid pressure
William Blake Martin's short stint as a Democratic candidate for Santa Rosa County's District 1 county commission seat has come to an end.
Martin turned a one sentence letter over Thursday morning to the county's Supervisor of Elections Office that said he would like to have his name withdrawn from the ballot.
The Milton business owner had filed March 18 to run against either Republican incumbent Sam Parker or one of three GOP challengers Parker will face in this year's August primary. As a Democrat he would have taken on the primary winner in the Nov. 5 general election.
His candidacy was questioned though by the county's Democratic Party. Martin had originally sought to run as a Republican, but could not do so because he would not have been registered with the Republican Party for a full year when candidates officially qualify to run in June.
Dems cry foul: Santa Rosa Dems say 'something nefarious' underway on local ballot
Pre-filing paper work provided to the News Journal shows the word Republican is crossed through on Martin's form and the word Democrat penciled in.
Democrats became suspicious of Martin when he rejected offers for help with his campaign and declined to attend party functions or meet with local party leaders. They also found "likes" on his Facebook page for "Donald Trump for President," "Tucker Carlson Tonight" and "USA Patriots for Donald Trump."
In a news release published Monday, Santa Rosa County Democrats accused Martin of running a "ghost campaign" and called for him to drop out of the race.
"After a review and audit of Mr. Martin's social media presence, we have concluded that he does not reflect the ideals of a Democratic candidate for office," it said. "We have reason to believe that he is running a shadow campaign for the sole purpose of blocking the voting power of over 50,000 Santa Rosa County residents ... We call on Mr. Martin to withdraw his candidacy for this race immediately."
As a Democratic candidate, as opposed to a write-in candidate, Martin would have been required to obtain 1,457 valid petition signatures by noon on May 13, or come up with a $5,241.54 fee when he officially qualified to run at some point during the week of June 10-14.
A write-in candidate's presence in a local election race closes that contest to only party affiliated voters. In the District 1 race, with only Republican candidates remaining, the write-in candidate would prevent Democratic and Independent voters from taking part in the election.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Democratic Santa Rosa County Commission candidate withdraws from race