June 12, 2012 –
Campaign 2012: Florida Senate and House races take shape

Florida’s qualifying deadline for those wishing to run for political office in 2012 expired on Friday, June 8 at 12 p.m.

Because of the once-a-decade redistricting and Florida’s term limits for state level officials, all 160 state legislative seats are on the ballot this year.

Candidate qualifying is important because it sets the playing field for the upcoming elections and it will determine whether Republicans or Democrats will lead the Florida House and Senate for most of the next decade.

In the Florida Senate, 27 of the 40 incumbents are running for reelection, while 11 current Senators are termed out.

In the Florida House, there are 84 of 120 incumbents running for reelection and 11 current Representatives are termed out from serving again.

There are 9 Senate races where there was no opposition and 33 House races without opposition, meaning these candidates win their seats without having to be approved by voters. Four of those candidates are House freshmen who were seeking their first elected office: Travis Cummings (House District 18), Charlie Stone (House District 22), Victor Torres, Jr. (House District 48), and Shervin Jones (House District 101).

The primary election will take place two weeks earlier than usual this year, on August 14. That date is before both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention, planned for August 27-31 and September 3-6 respectively.

Also interesting to note is that there are 23 House seats where voter registration is almost an equal split between Republicans and Democrats, so some races could be much more competitive between candidates of both parties than in previous years.

The Gunster team is traveling the state to meet these candidates and participate in candidate interviews and fundraisers for business-friendly candidates. As campaign season continues, we will update you about the closest races for the primary and general elections. In the meantime, if you would like more information about these or any other races, please contact Joanna Bonfanti.

Here are some of the races around the state to follow:

Senate District 4

Aaron Bean

Mike Weinstein

This Panhandle race will be a Republican primary battle between former Representative Aaron Bean and Representative Mike Weinstein.

Another Republican candidate, Wyman Duggan, dropped out of the race last week and threw his support to Representative Weinstein. Both Bean and Weinstein have received high profile endorsements and are raising significant dollars for the primary fight.

Another interesting development in this race last week was an email from a fictional group, “LGBT Action Group of Jacksonville,” that went out from an anonymous account thanking Bean for supporting a local ordinance on human rights that includes sexual orientation. Bean, however, does not support the ordinance and Weinstein claims he doesn’t know anything about the email or where it may have come from. This could become a very contentious race between Bean and Weistein.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat Nancy Soderberg and several write-in candidates in the general election.

Senate Districts 20 and 22

Senator Jack Latvala is running for reelection in District 20, which covers north Pinellas County. There was a lot of speculation last week that Senator Latvala may opt to run for Senate District 22 instead and take on fellow Republican Representative Jeff Brandes. Latvala is in the race for the Senate President after current President-Designate Don Gaetz’ term is over in 2014.

Jack Latvala	Roy Zahid
Jeff Brandes	Jim Frishe

Instead, Latvala will stay put and Representative Jim Frishe will run against Brandes, which will likely be a close race as well. Brandes is personally wealthy and willing to spend what’s necessary to win the seat, while Frishe has represented these constituents for many years and is well known and liked in the district. Latvala does have a primary opponent, Roy Zahid, who filed his intent to run for the seat in April. The winner of the District 20 primary will face Democrat Ashley Rhodes-Courter.

**The winners of Senate Districts 4, 20, and 22 will certainly play into the Senate leadership battle currently taking place as several Republican leaders position themselves for control after Senate President-Designate Don Gaetz’ term is over in 2014. Gaetz, a powerful Republican from Destin, supports Bean, while Senator Latvala supports Weinstein. Frishe is also thought to be a Latvala friend and supporter, so Brandes may receive a lot of support from Gaetz’ allies.

Senate District 24

Tom Lee

Rachel Burgin

Senator Ronda Storms unexpectedly decided not to run for reelection and instead run for the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser. Her decision sent potential candidates scrambling to qualify last week.  Former Senate President Tom Lee will run, as well as Representative Rachel Burgin in the Republican primary for Senate District 24. Lee is well-known in the district and seen as a moderate leader, while Burgin is much more socially conservative and a relative newcomer to the Florida House so name recognition may be a challenge for her against Lee. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Elizabeth Belcher and write-in candidate Randolph Link.

Senate District 27

Mack Bernard

Jeff Clemens

In Palm Beach County, Representatives Mack Bernard of West Palm Beach and Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth will square off in this Democratic primary race and face write-in candidate Travis Harris in the general election.

House District 30

Scott Plakon

Karen Castor Dentel

Representative Scott Plakon will take on Karen Castor Dentel in the general election for the newly created district in central Florida. While Dentel is a school teacher, she is also the daughter of former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor and sister of U.S. Representative Kathy Castor.

The Florida Legislature could also see several Diaz de la Portillas serving at the same time. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, former state Senator, filed to run for House District 112 against fellow Republicans Gustavo Barreiro and Eric Padron. Alex Diaz de la Portilla is brother to current state Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla.  Another Diaz de la Portilla brother, Renier, is also running in a three-way Republican primary for House District 103. He will face Manny Diaz, Jr., and Alfredo Naredo-Acosta.