Ryan Ray
Yet another pair of Florida State Representatives have filed to run for their seats again 23 months from now, this one bipartisan: Republican Sarasota Rep. Greg Steube and incoming freshman Rep. Bobby DuBose, a Broward Democrat, filed re-election paperwork and opened campaign accounts this week.
Steube, who would term out in 2018 should he win, ran unopposed this November in his bid to again represent District 73. The district comprises vast swaths of inland Manatee and Sarasota counties and features an almost two-to-one Republican voter registration advantage. The third-term lawmaker is an Army veteran who served in the Iraq War.
Previously a city commissioner in Lauderdale Lakes, DuBose defeated Ft. Lauderdale Commissioner Levoyd Williams 67-33 in an August primary for District 94 – one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the state – before cruising unopposed to election in the general. The seat was vacated by termed-out former Minorty Leader Perry Thurston.
Steube has already filed a handful of bills ahead of the 2015 Legislative Session, including two dealing with restrictions on carrying weapons onto school campuses, a prohibition Steube has tried to relax in certain instances with past legislation. A litigator with Becker and Poliakoff by profession, Steube is also offering a bill to create a Division of Public-Private Partnerships within the Department of Economic Opportunity.
Dubose, who will be sworn in early next year, has not yet filed any bills or amendments. Dubose joins a 39-member Democratic caucus.
