(This story has been updated to include additional information)
Four candidates (three Republicans and one Democrat) are eligible for special elections to fill 32 seats in the Florida House District.
Republicans Terry Cronin, Brian Hodgers and Bob White will face off against Democratic challenger Juan Ginojosa in the GOP primary on June 10th to find out who will run.
The April 1 primary is open to registered Republicans only.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is scheduled for a special election to fill 32 seats in the Florida House district of Central Brevard County, vacant due to the future resignation of incumbent Debbie Mayfield of the Indianaru West. Sho.
Mayfield resigned from the 32 House District seats that came into effect on June 9th and ran for the Florida Senate in 19 districts covering Central and South Brevard. Randefine, a Republican from Melbourne Beach, who is currently District 19 Senator, resigned on March 31, and is looking for a seat in the Legislature in Florida’s District 6 district.
The main winner on April 1 will face Democrat Juan Hinojosa, who lost the district 32 race to Mayfield in November
Political Music Chair
Mayfield served in the 19th District Senate seat until November, and was then kicked out due to term restrictions. Instead, she ran towards the House seat she won in November, and Fine, who was restricted from her term from her Florida home, won Mayfield’s old Senate seat.
Mayfield argues that a short break in service means that she is eligible to run again for a term-limited Senate seat.
In the midst of surprising developments, however, the state’s election division ruled on Tuesday that Mayfield is not eligible to run again due to the time limit.
Mayfield argued that DeSantis is behind the ruling as a way to punish her for supporting Donald Trump through DeSantis before Iowa’s GOP Presidential Caucus last year. She said she intends to take legal action around the arbitrage section of the election.
Mayfield, a Republican, is currently a Florida House of Representatives in the 32nd District, representing Central Brevard County. When she declared her candidacy for the Senate seat, she submitted an irrevocable letter of resignation from her House seat.
The main and general elections for House District 32 will be on the same date as the first and general elections for Senate District 19.
Who qualified?
Below are the three who announced Republicans for Mayfield’s 32 Florida House district seats:
Dr. Terrence Cronin Jr., a Melbourne dermatologist and co-owner of Cronin Skin Cancer Centre, owns and operates it with his father and nie. Cronin is also the direct former chairman of Brian Hodgers, a Viera resident who owns an insurance agent and real estate agent. Hodgers has been a member of the Brevard County Planning and Zoning Board/Local Planning Agency for the past six years. He owns full selectable insurance and full selectable property at both Suntree.Bob White. White was chairman of the Republican Freedom Caucus in Brevard County for 16 years from 2007 to 2023, and has been chairman of the Republican Freedom Caucus Florida since 2015. I was running for office, but I was not qualified. He initially won four district seats on the Board of Education in 2016 and was re-elected in November for his third term.
Candidates seeking qualification through the petition must obtain 340 valid signatures and submit them to the election office’s Brevard County Supervisor by 5pm on February 1st. Election will be held by 5pm on February 3rd.
Alternatively, the candidate may choose to instead pay a $1,781.82 eligibility fee to a candidate running under the party designation.
The mud is already sling
Tallahassee’s political committee, Florida PC, has created a paid electronic communication citing one count of forgery/fraud in 2001 for making false statements in real estate documents. White said he was a custom home builder at the time and had a dispute over the client’s refusal to pay. So he withheld payments to several subcontractors, but eventually paid the subcontractors and the fees were removed. “I wasn’t going to pay them,” White added.
“That’s pretty desperate for me,” White said of paid election communications that have caused problems for years. “My well, anyone can claim and charge,” he added. “The right question is, “Have you ever been convicted of anything before? The answer is definitely not.”
According to Florida’s election department, the chair of Florida PC who paid for the election communications is Alex Alvarado.
Bobby Burns, a political operative who runs Space Coast Rocket’s political blog, says Cronin follows Melbourne’s medical practices as his residence as his home is lying down just outside the 32nd ward. They are questioning whether they are trying to pay.
However, under state law, candidates only need to reside in the districts they win when they take office.
Cronin could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Jim Weimer is a Florida environmental reporter today. Contact him at jwaymer@floridatoday.com at jwayenviro at jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
Dave Berman, Florida business editor today. Contact him on dberman @floridatoday.com, @bydaveberman on X, and Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54.
