Drew Wilson
Republican attorney Sasha Dadan is running for the Florida House seat currently held by term-limited Stuart Rep. Gayle Harrell.
Dadan, the daughter of a Cuban mother and Argentinian father, filed for House District 83 on May 21 but waited until Monday to formally announce her campaign.
“The Constitution of the United States of America is the foundation of our nation. It is the fabric from which our Florida Constitution and our laws are drawn and I am committed to working to preserve, protect, and defend our constitutions and maintaining the rule of law,” Dadan said in a press release.
“We must also build on past successes to finally clean up the St. Lucie River once and for all. It is imperative that we force government to live within its means and pursue the continuation of Governor [Rick] Scott’s economic policies that are benefitting economic growth in our state.”
Dadan has worked as a public defender in Florida’s 19th Judicial Circuit Court and Safespace, where she helped establish the first Injunction for Protection (IFP) project in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties. She opened her law practice, Dadan Bonna Law, earlier this year.
She joins businessman and Martin County Republican Party chair Toby Overdorf in the primary. Also running is Democrat Tiffany Lauren Parisi.
Overdorf was the first-in candidate and currently leads the money race with $69,250 raised and nearly $40,000 in the bank. Parisi had $7,400 in the bank heading into May. Dadan’s first campaign finance report, covering the 10 days she was a candidate last month, is due to the state on June 11.
HD 83 covers parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties and has a Republican lean. In 2016, Harrell won re-election over Democratic challenger Crystal Lucas with 54 percent of the vote. She went unopposed in 2014 and faced no major-party challengers in 2012.
