Mitch Perry
The 28-hour qualifying period for the special election in state House District 64 began this morning.
HD64 includes parts of northwest Hillsborough and eastern Pinellas counties. Former Rep. Jamie Grant, R-Tampa, received about 59.5 percent of the vote in the November election against his Republican challenger, Miriam Steinberg, but the House rejected the results because of a court battle that focused on write-in candidate Daniel John Matthews. The 1st District Court of Appeal in October overturned a lower-court ruling that said Matthews could not run for the seat.
With Matthews reinstated, there will have to be a special closed primary for GOP-registered voters only to decide between Grant and Steinberg, then an open general election between the winner and Matthews.
That GOP Primary election for the HD64 seat is set for Feb. 10. The general election is on April 21.
Grant has held the seat since 2010.
Miriam Steinberg is the wife of Michael Sternberg, a former chair of the Hillsborough County Democratic Party. He filed the lawsuit earlier this year against Matthews, claiming that as a write-in candidate he was unfairly preventing himself and other Democrats and independents from casting ballot in an open primary.
Florida primaries are open to all voters if candidates from other parties don’t qualify. Otherwise, Florida is a “closed primary” state, meaning only voters registered with a particular party can vote for that party’s candidates in the primary. But a write-in candidate’s inclusion in a general election keeps the primaries closed, an issue that many observers wish could be changed.
The qualifying period ends Tuesday at noon.
