Third Republican enters race to succeed Rick Roth in HD 94

A third Republican has entered the race to fill Republican Rep. Rick Roth’s seat in western Palm Beach County.

Anthony Aguirre, a businessman with a focus on health care, is coming on strong with a similar message to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ missives about fighting “woke.”

Palm Beach County’s House District 94 is open because Roth is term-limited. The district runs from West Palm Beach’s suburbs to Belle Glade’s agricultural acres.

“The fight to keep Florida free must continue. Every Floridian must heed Gov. DeSantis’ call to push back on wokeism and woke corporations that would impose their views on Floridians and their families,” Aguirre said in a prepared statement.

He will be facing two other Republicans in the Primary Election. They are Jon Carter of Loxahatchee, who has been a staffer for a bevy of pols, including the man he hopes to succeed, and Gabrielle Fox, a Palm Beach Gardens psychologist and entrepreneur running two firms and working as a project manager with the private equity firm, Keel Harbour.

Like them, this is Aguirre’s first time running for office.

Florida Politics’ efforts to contact Aguirre to explain what he means by “wokeism” and “woke corporations” were not successful. “Wokeism” is generally regarded as progressive activism and an effort to end systemic injustices, but it has been used to argue against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other targets of conservatives.

Aguirre’s announcement highlights his work in the health care field.

He’s a graduate of Florida State University after being raised in western Palm Beach County, his announcement said.

His father was a physician and his mother worked at the Village of Wellington’s Parks and Recreation Department. After earning his degree in economics with a minor in business administration, Aguirre worked with his father to set up a managed care company, his announcement said.

In 2022, he joined Medtronic, a medical device company, as a “value-based representative and payer relations consultant,” his announcement said.

He has also continued to work in hospitalist medicine management for high-risk Palm Beach County organizations, according to a news release.