- December 16, 2025
John Pollinger, a retired New Jersey police officer who is now running for Flagler County sheriff, plans to continue to run as a Republican.
Last week, he said he was told by the supervisor of elections that because he had changed his party status within the past 365 days, he was not able to run as a Republican and had to run with no party affiliation. That meant he would need to start over on getting hundreds of petitions signed.
But Pollinger said on Saturday that he has been a Repubican in Florida since 2009; therefore, he should have no problem running as a Republican this year. He plans to take any legal action necessary to ensure that he can continue his campaign.
Pollinger did say that when he was 18, he registered as a Democrat in New Jersey so that he could vote for a family friend in a primary. He describes himself as “apolitical” and so, he never gave it much thought after that.
He moved to Palm Coast in 2008. Initially, he registered as an NPA. A year later, he registered as a Republican, citing President Ronald Reagan and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as influences. He had contributed to John McCain’s campaigns in the past.
By the time he filed to run for sheriff in November 2011, he had been a registered Republican in Palm Coast for two years.
However, members of the Republican Club started calling him a “closet Democrat” because he had been registered that way in New Jersey.
“You can’t be a registered voter in two states,” Pollinger said. “But apparently that didn’t satisfy certain individuals in the Republican Party.”
So, to clear the air, he said he contacted the supervisor of elections in his home town in New Jersey and filled out the necessary paperwork to give up his voting rights there as a Democrat.
“I called New Jersey, and I was told, ‘You are still on the roles, though you’re not eligible to vote,’” he said. … “It’s my contention that I’ve done nothing wrong.”
