Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw will formally endorse state Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, for chief financial officer at an event Thursday, Atwater’s campaign says.

Bradshaw is one of the most influential Democratic elected officials in Palm Beach County, though his office is nonpartisan and he has never been much for red/blue distinctions. Atwater and state Rep. Pat Patterson, R-DeLand, are the only candidates in the CFO race so far.

Bradshaw’s statement: “Through his years of service, Jeff Atwater has been an effective leader and a strong voice for Florida’s Sheriffs. He has made certain the men and women of law enforcement have the tools they need to keep our communities safe. I am proud to be a supporter of his campaign and, more importantly, honored to call him my friend.”

Republican state Rep. Pat Patterson kicked off his campaign Wednesday for state chief financial officer from his hometown of DeLand (pictured below). But to win the office, the 10-year House veteran must first get through Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach.

One reason to watch Patterson’s campaign is to see who supports him in favor of the sitting Senate president. Not that Atwater necessarily would let a state political race control his chamber’s agenda, but if you’ve got an issue in the legislature (and folks with money do) then its generally best to make friends with the man in charge of half of it.

Another reason to watch Patterson: he’s from Central Florida and right now that seems to be the key to Florida politics: Every statewide office holder right now is from the I-4 corridor (Nelson, Martinez, Crist, Sink, McCollum and Bronson). The last politician not from Central Florida to win a state election was President Barack Obama, a Chicagoan who, it could be argued, still lived closer to the I-4 corridor than Republican nominee John McCain, R-Ariz.

And that geography could play on property insurance issues: Patterson in an interview earlier this summer was quick to point out that 65 percent of Citizens policies are from five counties (including four from South Florida).

Those five counties, he says, pay just 35 percent of the Citizens’ assessment.

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