Amanda Makki continues to stack local endorsements, with Redington Shores Mayor Marybeth Henderson becoming the 12th Pinellas County mayor to back her bid for Florida’s 13th Congressional District.

“Active leadership is the definition of a Community Conservative and that’s what we have in Amanda Makki,” said Henderson. Amanda will put Pinellas first and be a partner to Governor DeSantis in Washington to represent our traditional conservative values.”

Henderson’s endorsement brings the total to 12 Pinellas County mayors who are supporting Makki in the race for CD 13. Other local leaders to back her campaign include Oldsmar Mayor Dan Saracki, Indian Shores Mayor Patrick Soranno, Pinellas Park Mayor Sandra Bradbury, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, Belleair Mayor Mike Wilkinson, Largo Mayor Woody Brown, Seminole Mayor Leslie Waters, Madeira Beach Mayor John Hendricks, North Redington Beach Mayor Bill Queen, Redington Beach Mayor David Will, and Belleair Shore Mayor Bob Schmidt.

Makki, a GOP strategist and conservative national commentator, also boasts endorsements from Maggie’s List Florida, SEAL PAC, and former Pinellas Congressman Bill Young’s wife Beverly,

“I am a lifelong conservative who will never stop working for the people of Pinellas,” added Makki. “If you want someone who has proven themselves by earning the support of more Republican mayors in Pinellas County than any other person in this race, then I’m your candidate and I’ll spend every day in Congress fighting for you.”

Makki first ran for the seat in 2020 but was edged out by Anna Paulina Luna in the Republican Primary. Luna netted 36 percent of the vote to Makki’s 29 percent but would go on to lose to Democratic incumbent Charlie Crist. CD 13 is wide open in 2022, with Crist deciding to run for governor.

The pair will once again square off this election cycle, this time in a crowded Republican Primary alongside former prosecutor Kevin Hayslett, nonprofit founder Audrey Henson, and Christine Quinn. The Democratic field is also strong, with state Representatives Ben Diamond and Michele Rayner-Goolsby and EricLynn, a former national security adviser under President Barack Obama, vying to keep the seat blue.

A once-Republican stronghold that was flipped by Crist in 2016, Republicans have a better chance of taking back CD 13 thanks to Florida’s new congressional map.