Drew WilsonRepublican Rep. Chris Sprowls has drawn a second Democratic challenger in his bid for a third term representing House District 65.
Sally Laufer of Palm Harbor filed for the seat on Friday. She joins Alex Stephen Toth, also of Palm Harbor, in the Democratic Primary for the Pinellas-based district.
Laufer doesn’t have a lot of catching up to do in the primary race as Toth has so far raised just $183 since entering the race in late February.
Both candidates have about three weeks left before they’ll need to shell out a qualifying fee or produce enough valid petition signatures to make the ballot. Even if one or both Democrats make the cut, Sprowls is a near lock for re-election.
In addition to HD 65 being a safely Republican district, Sprowls is one of the most prodigious fundraisers in the Florida House. As of April 30, he had raised more than $150,000 for his campaign and had nearly $900,000 more banked in an affiliated political committee, Floridians for Economic Freedom.
The 34-year-old attorney is in line to succeed Miami Republican Rep. Jose Oliva as House Speaker following the 2020 elections. As of last week, Sprowls had gathered enough signatures to make the 2018 ballot by petition.
HD 65 includes Clearwater, Dunedin, and Tarpon Springs in northern Pinellas County.
