State Rep. Jayer Williamson endorses Joel Rudman to fill his seat in state House

State Rep. Jayer Williamson took to Facebook on Wednesday morning and endorsed Navarre-area physician Joel Rudman to fill his seat as the District 3 representative in the Florida House.

Rudman is vying for the position against Mariya Calkins, wife of Santa Rosa County Commissioner James Calkins and former aide to former state Rep. Mike Hill.

In January, Williamson announced his decision not to run for reelection in 2022, citing the environment of politics and his desire to spend more time with his family. Calkins filed for the seat that same week.

Rudman later filed in March.

"Honestly, I had no intentions of endorsing. I actually told both candidates over two months ago that I didn't plan on endorsing either one of them," Williamson wrote in his statement Wednesday. "Even last month when a family member asked me, I told them I had watched a couple debates and while I clearly knew I would be voting for Rudman. I still didn't like a couple of his answers so I wasn't going to endorse."

Williamson went on to explain he chose Rudman over Calkins because he is a "proven conservative" and because he is "straight forward and not scared to answer a question, even if he feels you disagree with him."

"He is not just a good candidate, he is the best candidate," Williamson wrote of Rudman.

House District 3 covers most of Santa Rosa County and northern parts of Okaloosa County.

Williamson's endorsement comes days after a controversy involving the Calkinses began spreading on social media. A widely shared video showed the spouses at a New Year's celebration in Russia and included James Calkins saying, "I love Russia" and Mariya commenting on how "tough" Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared.

The couple later spoke to the News Journal to provide context about the video, saying it was a traditional New Year's celebration they attended in 2013. The both expressed criticism of Putin's regime and said the video should not be taken as praise or approval of Russia's leaders.

A University of West Florida official who reviewed the video at the News Journal's request said the video showed a traditional gathering and there appeared to be nothing "nefarious" about the situation.

Read Williamson's statement here: facebook.com/jayerwilliamson.