ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Democrats flipped a Republican-held seat by winning Tuesday night's special election in Central Florida's 35th State House District.
Democrat Tom Keen, a Navy flight officer, defeated Republican candidate and Osceola School Board member Erika Booth with unofficial counts totaling Keen with 11,390 votes and Booth with 10,800.
Keen's narrow victory came despite Republicans significantly outspending Democrats on the campaign, with Booth raising just over $300,000 compared to Keen's $115,000.
The special election for District 35, which covers parts of eastern Orange and Osceola counties, was launched when former GOP state Rep. Fred Hawkins resigned in 2023 to become president of South Florida State College in Highlands County.
Keen's campaign ran largely on the issues of protecting abortion rights and lowering the cost of property insurance. Booth's campaign embraced former President Donald Trump's "America First" rhetoric with slogans that included "stop the woke mob," "cancel the woke agenda" and "stop the brainwashing."
Last week, Keen told the WUSF network that he was tailoring his campaign strategy to the district's even makeup of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.
"We are engaging with voters through targeted messaging about non-partisan issues like the economy, education, and healthcare," Keen said. "We're also using data-driven approaches to identify and connect with voters who may be open to our message, regardless of their usual political leanings."
That targeted approach may have paid off, as Democratic elections analyst Matt Isabel told the Orlando Sentinel.
"What actually clinched the win for Democrats was this massive margin with [nonpartisan] and perhaps some Republican moderates as well,” Isbell said. “If anything, this should be concerning for the GOP because it indicates a voter anger that maybe they have not understood.”
The special election is being viewed as an indicator of Democrats' chances in November 2024.
