Janelle Irwin Taylor
Congresswoman Kathy Castor is backing Andrew Learned for Florida House District 59, Learned’s campaign announced Tuesday.
“Andrew Learned is a Navy veteran who is running a people-powered grassroots campaign in a competitive district that Democrats flipped in 2018,” Castor said. “Andrew’s experience as an officer in the Navy and as a small business owner shows me that he is fighting for all Floridians.”
Learned faces special needs coach Mark Oliver in the Democratic primary for the Brandon area district. Incumbent Adam Hattersley won the seat in 2018, flipping the seat blue, but is not seeking reelection because he’s running for Congress.
Three Republicans — Melissa Haskins, Danny Kushmer and Michael Owen — are running for the GOP nomination in a race they view as an opportunity to reclaim a lost seat in the Florida House.
Learned enters the race with more name recognition than his opponents thanks to his previous unsuccessful bid for Congressional District 15 last year. Learned lost the Democratic nomination to Kristen Carlson who went on to lose against Ross Spano in the general election. He also appears to have the fundraising momentum against Oliver. October fundraising and expense reports for October will be filed sometime Tuesday, but as of the end of September, Learned had raised $26,000 compared to Oliver’s less than $14,000.
Only Owen has raised more than Learned, bringing in nearly $59,000 as of Oct. 31.
Learned had been running for the seat again before swapping races with Hattersley this summer.
“Congresswoman Castor is a role model and I am incredibly proud to earn her support,” Learned said. “She’s a leader in the fight against climate change and for making healthcare more affordable for everyone in Tampa Bay and throughout Florida. I’m excited to work with her in the years ahead from Tallahassee.”
Learned served 10 years in the Navy and deployed to the Middle East three times during his service. He owns GradePower Learning Valrico, a company that employs about a dozen teachers to tutor local high school students.
