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SARASOTA/MANATEE COUNTY – Florida Republican chair Joe Gruters may need support from Democrats to win his primary.

Republican Michael Johnson qualified to run against Gruters in Senate District 22. That includes Sarasota County and part of Manatee.

While Robert Kaplan filed to run as a write-in candidate, he made a mistake on his qualifying fee. And under state law, if Gruters has no opponent in the general election and the primary would end up deciding the race, Democrats can vote in his primary.

Johnson lives in Seminole County around 150 miles away and is upset with how Gruters handled a complaint about the Seminole County GOP. Gruters says he actually lives here and has fought for the community on issues that both parties have agreed on.

Johnson told Gruters in an email, “Millions of Republicans in this state despise you and your stupidity.”