Jacob Ogles
Real estate agent Ken Davenport has collected a modest near-$3,000 for his bid for the House District 35 seat.
He faces Osceola County School Board member Erika Booth and former congressional candidate Scotty Moore in a Republican Primary on Nov. 7. At this point, both Moore and Booth have raised six-figure hauls.
But Davenport is counting on voters being unimpressed with special interest influence peddling.
“I’m doing fabulous,” Davenport said. “I’m a candidate that is tired of traditional politicians and I’m out there working for the people.”
Of the money raised, $1,000 comes from out of pocket. He also relied on in-kind donations from Rockledge-based Kendal Signs for marketing materials. The Petrucci Agency, an insurance company, has also donated $1,000
Davenport last year challenged incumbent Rep. Fred Hawkins in the Republican Primary during the first election cycle since lines were redrawn as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process. But Hawkins, a St. Cloud Republican, ran with the backing of Gov. Ron DeSantis and ultimately cruised to another term in the House.
But now, the seat has opened after Hawkins resigned to take a job as President of South Florida State College. Davenport announced in June he would run again for the open seat.
Already, Davenport has considered a run in 2024 regardless of when Hawkins did. He came within 1,200 votes of unseating the incumbent lawmaker last time.
He hopes that portends an interest from voters in an outsider.
But he’s also running now against the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, which has publicly backed Booth.
On top of that, Democrats believe they have a shot at flipping the seat. While Hawkins beat Democrat Rishi Bagga last year by 10 percentage points, Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 won the district when he ran for President. Leading into the November election, Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district, though no-party voters notably outnumbered members of either party.
