Fresh on the heels of Ron DeSantis' humiliating 30-point drubbing in the Iowa caucuses, Florida Democrats have the chance to give the governor a second black eye in as many days by flipping a competitive Republican-held seat in the state legislature on Tuesday. However, they’ll need to overcome a hefty financial deficit to do it.
Fresh Take Florida reports that the GOP nominee in Tuesday’s special election for the 35th House District, Osceola County School Board member Erika Booth, has raised $305,000, with $133,000 of that coming from party organizations and state legislators. Her Democratic opponent in this suburban Orlando constituency, businessman and Navy veteran Tom Keen, has brought in a smaller $115,000.
Joe Biden carried the district 52-47 in 2020, though Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis won the same district by an imposing 56-43 spread in 2022, according to one analysis. Republican incumbent Fred Hawkins also secured reelection 55-45 in 2022, but he didn't stick around long. The following June, DeSantis appointed him to serve as president of South Florida State College, even though, as many reports noted, Hawkins had no background in higher education.
Republicans hold an 84-35 supermajority in the 120-member state House as well as a similarly lopsided edge in the state Senate, so a Keen victory wouldn't jeopardize the party's iron grip on state government. But Sunshine State Democrats, who scored a dramatic victory in last year's race for mayor of Jacksonville, are hoping that a win on Tuesday would give them another chance to convince donors and allied groups that, despite a series of dispiriting election cycles, this longtime swing state remains in play.
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