Shoaf worked as a businessman prior to entering politics, serving as the vice-president of St. Joe Natural Gas Company and Gulf South Self Storage and Alliance Property Management.[1] He was appointed to the board of the Port St. Joe Port Authority Board and to the board of Triumph Gulf Coast, a state-run non-profit tasked with disbursing funds recovered from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[2]
Following Halsey Beshear's resignation from the House to serve as Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, a special election was held to replace Beshears in the House.[3] Shoaf announced that he would run in the special election, and faced Mike Watkins, Lynda Bell, the Sneads City Manager and a former Miami-Dade County Commissioner; and 2018 congressional candidate Virginia Fuller in the primary election.[4] He campaigned on "bringing high-paying jobs to the district" and on "expand[ing] vocational opportunities" in public schools[2] and emphasized his outsider credentials.[1] He was endorsed by several prominent northern Florida Republican politicians—former State House Speaker Allan Bense, former State Senate President Don Gaetz, and Congressman Matt Gaetz[5]—while Watkins was endorsed by local sheriffs and the state's police and firefighter unions[4] and Bell was endorsed by a right-to-life group.[6] The campaign grew heated and personal, with Watkins nearly starting a fight with Shoaf after Watkins alleged that Shoaf touched his fiancée's arm, an allegation Shoaf & witnesses denied.[7] Ultimately, despite the perceived closeness of the race, Shoaf ended up winning by a wide margin, receiving 49% of the vote to Watkins's 27%, Bell's 20%, and Fuller's 4%.[8]
Shoaf advanced to the general election, where he faced Ryan Terrell, a Tallahassee communications consultant and the Democratic nominee.[9] Against Terrell, Shoaf focused on his conservative positions, like his support for Donald Trump, gun rights, and anti-abortion legislation, but also campaigned on nonpartisan issues, like helping the district recover from Hurricane Michael.[10] Ultimately, despite the district's Democratic voter registration and history of supporting downballot Democratic candidates,[10] Shoaf prevailed over Terrell in a landslide, winning 71% of the vote to Terrell's 29%.[9]
