The Democrats could be set to flip a strongly Republican seat next month after positive results in a recent runoff.
The local election involving the Florida House of Representatives District (HD) 35 will take place in January. Optimism among Democrats comes as Republicans held the HD-118 in Kendall last night by just six points in a strongly pro-Trump district. Voters in the area voted for Donald Trump over President Joe Biden by a margin of 16 points.
The 10-point swing of support towards the Democrats means a similar change of heart among voters in HD-35, where the margin is currently 11 points, is possible. Democrats say Biden won the district by five points in the 2020 presidential election.
Republican Fred Hawkins defeated Democrat Rishi Bagga in November 2022, but left the seat vacant after agreeing to take up a position as president of South Florida State College. Osceola School Board member Erika Booth is the Republican candidate for January and will be up against businessman and U.S. Navy veteran Tom Keen. Keen arguably has momentum after a surprise defeat of the likes of Bagga in the Democratic primary last month, despite having fewer campaign funds.
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Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said the seat was a “top priority” for the party. “Taking back House District 35 – a district that President Biden won by 5 points – is a top priority for the Florida Democratic Party,” she said, according to Florida Politics. “We’ll be joining Tom on the ground to knock on doors, register new voters, and show the people of Central Florida that Democrats are serious about changing the way things work in Tallahassee.”
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said: “Florida Democrats are coming together to send Tom to Tallahassee – bringing us one step closer to breaking the Republican supermajority and having a legislature that reflects the voices of all Floridians.”
Despite optimism among Democrats, blue seats are still very much in the minority in the state legislature. Currently, Republicans lead the way with 83 of the total 120 seats in the Sunshine State’s lower house.
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The Democrats have just 35 and it is a similar story in the state senate, where Republicans control 28 of the 40 seats, the remaining 12 held by the Democrats.
This year, Republicans attempted to strengthen their grip on congressional map in the state by filing a redistricting map that was heavily criticized by rights groups for purportedly weakening the power of Black voters.
The map, approved by Governor Ron DeSantis, led to Florida Republicans picking up four seats in Florida when Black Democrat Congressman Al Lawson’s seat was divided into four. They were all picked up by white GOP members.
The move helped Republicans bolster a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, which the party still holds today.
In September, Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh sided with a suit against the redistricting map and said the plan “results in the diminishment of Black voters’ ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida constitution.” This ruling was reversed by an appellate court last week.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.