Erin Grall to run for Senate in proposed SD 29

Republican Rep. Erin Grall is filing to run for the new Senate District 29 seat.

Under the redistricting map approved last month by the Senate, the newly formed and newly numbered district is clear of any incumbents and does not appear to have any other challengers. For now, that gives Grall a clear path into the Senate.

Grall, a lawyer who is managing partner of the Grall Law Group, is a three-term Representative from Vero Beach, representing House District 54. She chairs the House Judiciary Committee and has been a particularly powerful force on religious conservatism issues. That includes her highly contentious abortion restriction bill (HB 5) now progressing through the Legislature.

“My family and I are blessed to live in a region, and a state, that values personal freedom and economic opportunity. Florida stands in stark contrast to the dysfunction of Washington, D.C. and our leaders in the state Senate have been on the frontlines of defending our shared priorities — protecting people’s livelihoods, standing up for our schoolchildren, and keeping Florida one of the most fiscally sound states in the nation,” Grall said in a news release issued by her new Senate campaign.

The proposed new SD 29 would be centered in Vero Beach, stretching along the Atlantic coast from Sebastian to Port St. Lucie, then moving inland to take in parts of several counties rimming the northern and western shores of Lake Okeechobee.

Nearby incumbents who may have had a portion of the electorate now defined into SD 29 all fall into other Senate districts under the redistricting map. Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky moves into Senate District 30. Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell drifts into Senate District 31. Republican Sen. Ben Albritton shifts into Senate District 26. Republican Sen. Debbie Mayfield moves over to Senate District 19.

Grall’s popularity with her base may have been evidenced by the impressive host committee for her House re-election fundraiser in December, which included 19th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers, Indian River Shores Mayor Brian Foley, Indian River County School Board member Shawn Frost and former Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

“Throughout my tenure in the Florida House of Representatives, I’ve worked hard to advance these shared priorities and look forward to the opportunity to join with the accomplished and dedicated Republican leaders in the state Senate who’ve led with courage and conviction to keep Florida the freest, most prosperous state in the union,” Grall said.

Still, her House campaign fund to be transferred over for her new campaign is relatively modest for a Senate run. At the end of December, she had about $39,000 in the bank.

She had another $164,000 on hand in a newly registered political committee, Friends of Erin Grall.

She was first elected to represent House District 54 in 2016 with a convincing win in a packed Republican Primary. She later skated past a write-in opponent in the General Election. She faced Democratic challengers in her 2018 and 2020 re-election bids but managed to cross 60% support in both head-to-heads.