Drew Wilson
A second candidate filed Tuesday to run for the Senate District 14 seat currently held by Republican Sen. Dorothy Hukill.
Democrat Brandon Wayne Maggard is a 21-year-old resident of Cocoa. He joins Democrat Melissa Martin, also of Cocoa, in the race to unseat Hukill, who is running for her final term in the Senate.
SD 14 covers the southern half of Volusia County and the northern half of Brevard. It was one of the districts to see substantial changes after Florida courts approved new maps at the end of 2015.
Prior to the 2016 election, Hukill’s home base in Port Orange was in the old SD 8, which covered southern Volusia and stretched inland to include parts of Lake and Marion counties, including a large portion of Ocala.
SD 14 has a a stronger Republican lean than the old SD 8, were registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans by a couple points.
Mitt Romney carried SD 14 by 7 points in 2012, and in 2016 it voted plus-18 for Donald Trump. Hukill’s opponent two years ago was no-party candidate Richard Paul Dembinsky, whom she beat 68-32 on Election Day.
Through the end of February, Hukill had raised $120,650 and had about $87,000 in the bank. Martin has raised a little over $18,000 since filing in August, and had about $15,300 on hand heading into March.
