The Florida Senate directory lists Clay Yarborough (R) for the 2024–26 term and gives the county coverage as Consists of Nassau county and part of Duval county.
District map · 2022 Senate plan
Nassau County Municipalities: Includes the City of Fernandina Beach, Town of Callahan, Town of Hilliard, and major unincorporated master-planned hubs including Amelia Island, Yulee, and Wildlight.
Duval County Neighborhoods: Spans North Jacksonville (Northside), Oceanway, East Arlington, Fort Caroline, Mayport, and coastal areas along the northern St. Johns River mouth.
Transport Corridors: Interstate 95 (north-south logistics spine to Georgia), Interstate 295 (Jacksonville East Beltway), US Highway 1, US Highway 17, and State Road A1A / State Road 200 connecting Yulee to Fernandina Beach.
Waterways and Environmental Assets: Encompasses the lower St. Johns River basin, Nassau River, St. Marys River basin (state border), Fort George River, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Amelia Island state parks, and expansive salt marsh estuarine networks subject to coastal storm surge and sea-level mitigation planning.
Total Population: Benchmark ideal Senate district population of ~538,455 based on 2020 Decennial Census redistricting baselines under Plan S027S8058 (Florida Senate District 4 Statistics).
County-Level Voter Composition:
Nassau County: Heavily Republican lean; active registered voters as tracked by the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections maintain an approximate 2.5-to-1 Republican-to-Democratic registration ratio.
Duval County Portion: Comprises predominantly right-leaning suburban, exurban, and military-heavy precincts in North/East Jacksonville, distinct from the Democratic-leaning core in Duval's Senate District 5.
Demographic Breakdown: Majority white non-Hispanic population (~70–75%), with significant Black communities in North Jacksonville and Yulee/Callahan, and a growing Hispanic and military-connected demographic around coastal ports and Naval installations. (Precise district-level non-decennial American Community Survey splits remain unmodeled at single-tract boundaries; marked unknown).
2022 General Election:
Clay Yarborough (R) defeated Sharmin Smith (D) with approximately 67.6% to 32.4% of the vote (Florida Division of Elections November 8, 2022 General Results).
2024 General Election:
Senator Yarborough was re-elected without primary opposition and won the November 5, 2024 general election against an underfunded Democratic challenger, securing over 65% of the total vote across Nassau and Duval precincts.
Top-of-Ticket Performance: Carried decisively by Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Marco Rubio in 2022, and by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential contest with margins exceeding +25% district-wide.
Maritime and Transportation Logistics:
JAXPORT (Jacksonville Port Authority marine terminals, including Blount Island and Dames Point facilities situated within Duval SD-4 boundaries).
Port of Fernandina (deepwater bulk cargo port in Nassau County operated under the Ocean Highway and Port Authority).
Jacksonville International Airport (JIA), located in northern Duval County.
Military and Aerospace: Naval Station Mayport (service area anchor across the river mouth), Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay (direct economic and commuter driver across the border in Camden County/Nassau), and expanding defense supply chains.
Healthcare and Industrial Employers: UF Health North (Jacksonville), Baptist Medical Center Nassau (Fernandina Beach), Rayonier Advanced Materials (cellulose plant, Fernandina), and WestRock/packaging facilities.
Land Development and Forestry: Rayonier Inc. (Wildlight master-planned community corporate sponsor and massive regional timberland owner).
Key Elected Officials:
Senator Clay Yarborough (R-Arlington), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman.
Representative Dean Black (R-HD 15, covering Nassau and western/northern Duval).
Nassau County Board of County Commissioners and Fernandina Beach City Commission.
Jacksonville City Council members representing Duval Districts 2, 7, and 11.
Political Committees and Donors:
Floridians for Conservative Values (Senator Yarborough’s affiliated political committee registered with the Florida Division of Elections Campaign Finance Database).
Major recurring donors include building trade associations, agricultural/timber entities (e.g., Rayonier subsidiaries), infrastructure contractors, medical associations, and maritime interests.
Civic and Business Coalitions: Nassau County Chamber of Commerce, JAX Chamber, North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), and St. Johns Riverkeeper.
Committee Leadership: Served as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (2022–2024, reappointed 2024–2026), with memberships on the Appropriations Committee, Fiscal Policy Committee, and Criminal Justice Committee (Florida Senate Member Profile).
Legislative Focus: Primary sponsor of high-profile conservative policy, notably Senate Bill 254 (2023 Session), restricting gender-affirming care and procedures for minors, alongside key commercial litigation and civil liability overhauls in the Judiciary Committee.
District Appropriations: Championed millions in local infrastructure, including septic-to-sewer conversions in the St. Johns/Nassau river basins, State Road 200 safety expansions, JAXPORT harbor maintenance grants, and beach renourishment funding for Amelia Island through the Florida Senate Appropriations Project Portal.
Analytical Correlation Questions:
Port Logistics vs. Transportation Appropriations: How closely do local infrastructure appropriations sponsored for SR-200 and JAXPORT access corridors correlate with political donations from maritime logistics and road-building contractors filed under Floridians for Conservative Values?
Wildlight Expansion vs. Environmental Water Resource Policy: What correlation exists between Rayonier’s land holdings/zoning petitions in Yulee and Yarborough's local water/basin mitigation bills reviewed by the Nassau County Commission and Florida DEP?
Judiciary Committee Influence vs. Regional Legal Coalitions: Do tort-reform campaign donations from Northeast Florida insurance and defense bars match legislative patterns and committee hearing outcomes led by Yarborough during the 2023–2025 civil justice overhauls?
Research text: Gemini browser session, 2026-10-04. Officeholder and county coverage: Florida Senate directory. The graph keeps these leads separate from the reference office record.