ORLANDO, Fla. – Voters in Orange and Osceola counties will go to the polls in November and January to pick a new state representative for Florida House District 35.
State Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, is leaving the legislature to become president of South Florida State College.
Recommended Videos
Hawkins, who was an Osceola County commissioner before he was in the Legislature, is a staunch DeSantis ally. Among the bills he sponsored was the one that remade Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The district Hawkins represented covers most of Orange County east of State Road 417, along with much of Osceola County. A map of the district is available on the Florida House website.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Gov. Ron DeSantis set a special primary election for Nov. 7. Several municipal elections are also happening that day, including the Orlando mayoral race.
A special general election, if necessary, will take place on Jan. 16, 2024. The annual Florida Legislative Session starts on Jan. 9, so the winner of the general election would get a late start.
Candidates for the race have not been officially set yet. However, Rishi Bagga, an Orange County attorney who ran against Hawkins as a Democrat in the 2022 election, has said he will run for the seat again.
Another candidate who has announced that she would run for Florida House District 35 is Osceola County School Board member Erika Booth, who is a Republican.
According to the Florida Division of Elections website, Republican Scotty Moore, who lost the U.S. House race against Rep. Darren Soto in 2022, is also looking to run for the seat, as is Republican Ken Davenport and Democrat Tom Keen.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: