Todd Wilcox is a candidate with an interesting skill-set. He’s the guy you want on your side in a bar fight, but also to analyze your business plan.
Todd Wilcox: "All the problems we have in America are symptoms of the disease. And the disease is career politicians."[/caption]
Wilcox is a trained sniper. He speaks Arabic. He’s a former CIA officer. He commanded an elite squad of counterterrorism hostage rescuers.
But he is also a successful entrepreneur since entering the private sector.
Wilcox is a Republican candidate for the Senate seat vacated by US Senator Marco Rubio, but while he is in a crowded field with four other Republican opponents, his focus is on an issue that he thinks is harming America – business as usual in Washington.
“There is a movement that’s underway and it’s sweeping across America and across Florida as well,” he said. “And it’s a movement that’s fueled by fatigue for career politicians. I’m a part of that movement. I too am fed up with career politicians.”
Wilcox was in Apopka yesterday speaking at the Northwest Orange Republican Women’s Federation Luncheon at The Errol Estate Country Club, and for most of his speech he drove home the point of elected officials getting too comfortable with their positions.
“All the problems we have in America are symptoms of the disease. And the disease is career politicians. And it’s career politicians on both sides of the aisle.”
Wilcox has a 5-point plan on his campaign’s website “to end career politicians”. It includes 12-year term limits, a lifetime ban on lobbying, and no pensions. Its language has a seek-and-destroy cadence to it similar to the candidate’s military attitude towards almost every subject. It can be harsh, but always authentic and substantive.
According to Wilcox, he grew up in a poor section of Tampa, and was raised by a single mother. He graduated from high school in 1985, earned a ROTC scholarship to the University of Tampa, and graduated in 1989.
He entered the military that same year and was commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, served as a rifle platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm. He rose to the rank of captain and transferred to the Special Forces branch where he earned his Green Beret.
He commanded a counterterrorism team, until 1997, when he left the Army to join the CIA. He moved to the Middle East and saw combat again as a paramilitary CIA officer in Iraq. He finished his CIA career in 2006.
Upon entering the private sector, Wilcox founded Patriot Defense Group, which provides specialized training to the military, intelligence services. It also provides corporate and private investigative services. A second company founded by Wilcox - Innovative Logistics - is a firm that provides transportation, food, mail, fuel and other logistics services in Afghanistan and Libya.
He estimates his net worth is over $50 million.
In his viewpoint, it is this non-political resume that distances him from his opponents.
“I have 27 years of real world experience in the two things that will define this election – national security and the economy. These are the two issues most important to Floridians and Americans. The contrast between my experience and my opponents is stark.”
Wilcox started his campaign on July 4th, 2015. And while most candidates begin with fundraising events, he opened by sliding a sizeable contribution into the election pot to show his commitment.
“I put a million dollars of my own money into this campaign. That’s how passionate I am about it. I want to wake up on November 9th and know I did everything in my power to stop what’s going on.”
