Scott Powers
For all practical purposes, Port Orange City Commissioner Chase Tramont has won election to represent the new House District 30 along the Space Coast by winning the Republican Primary Election.
Tramont defeated Robyn Hattaway in a landslide in Tuesday’s Primary. With that, he moves on to a General Election clear of all except a write-in candidate who joined the contest only to assure that the Republican Primary Election would be closed to Democrats and independents.
HD 30 straddles the Volusia-Brevard county line. Tramont is a Port Orange City Council member with a base in Volusia and Hattaway is a Port Canaveral Commissioner with a base in Brevard.
Hattaway actually won in her home county, but not by nearly enough, outpolling Tramont 55% to 45% there. In Volusia, Tramont swamped her, taking more than 75%, with counts of mail ballots still not complete.
Overall, that gave Tramont a 69% to 31% victory.
Tramont, a businessman and sports coach, campaigned as a philosophical hardline conservative who could be expected to press for conservative Christian values and absolutist views on matters such as First and Second Amendment rights. In particular, he pushed for constitutional carry and for the church to be recognized as a partner of government, on church terms.
Hattaway, a Merritt Island lawyer, preferred to talk about pragmatic issues that are immediate concerns, such as inflation and pollution of the Indian River Lagoon rather than hardline stands on abortion or constitutional carry of firearms.
Volusia County Republican State Committeeman Vic Baker filed to be a write-in candidate in HD 31, assuring only Republican voters could vote in the Primary.
The November General Election will ratify whomever Republicans chose to be the HD 30 Representative on Tuesday.
The newly drawn HD 30 stretches from Titusville and Mims in Brevard northward along the coast and Interstate 95 to take in Oak Hill, Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. The district has a strong Republican lean in voter registration.
