Democrat to face winner in 5-person Republican Primary to represent HD 94

Whoever survives the five-person Republican Primary in the House race to represent inland Palm Beach County must now face a Democrat — former Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Rachelle Litt.

Litt, who was termed out on the Palm Beach Gardens City Council last March, filed her paperwork this week to represent House District 94, which Rep. Rick Roth is termed out from running again to represent.

HD 94, which runs from the West Palm Beach suburbs to Belle Glade’s agricultural acres, is a true toss-up district that could represent a pick-up seat for the Democrats or prove the strength of the inroads Republicans have made in this county, which has long been considered a Democratic stronghold.

In the last election, district voters supported Gov. Ron DeSantis by 15 percentage points over Democratic candidate Charlie Crist, according to elections data analyst Matt Isbell of MCI Maps. District data from 2020 showed President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by just a smidge more than 1 percentage point and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum held a 5-point margin over DeSantis two years prior.

Litt’s release highlights her City Council election even though Republicans outnumber Democrats in the city north of West Palm Beach.

“She will represent the district and bring common sense reforms to the State of Florida,” the news release announcing her candidacy says.

Litt, who was first elected in 2017, has been a resident of Palm Beach Gardens for 30 years, her news release said. She graduated from Temple University School of Pharmacy and has worked as a retail pharmacist, a pharmacist consultant and a hospital pharmacist at St. Mary’s and Jupiter medical centers.

She is unique among the other candidates to succeed Roth. None of the Republicans running have ever won elected office before. They are:

—Palm Beach State College professor Christian Acosta, who ran for U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel’s seat in 2022 but lost in the Republican Primary to Laura Loomer.

—Nonprofit executive Megan Weinberger, the top fundraiser so far in the race — raising $113,025, for her first bid for office, between her campaign account and political committee.

—Businessman Anthony Aguirre, who is in his first bid for elected office.

— Jon Carter, who worked as Roth’s legislative aide before getting in the race.

—Entrepreneur and psychologist Gabrielle Fox, who is currently in last place in fundraising, according to last month’s filings.