Carlos Guillermo Smith coasts into Senate as only candidate to qualify in SD 17

Image via Carlos Guillermo Smith

Carlos Guillermo Smith is heading back to Tallahassee.

Less than two years after losing a re-election bid to the House, Smith won election unopposed to succeed Sen. Linda Stewart in Senate District 17.

“My heart is full of gratitude for this community who has entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as their state Senator,” Smith said.

“Since last year, our campaign has knocked on over 10,000 doors in Senate District 17. We know that voters are frustrated with the direction our state has been heading and they’ve had enough. Rents and property insurance premiums are soaring, over a million Floridians have recently lost health care, and Tallahassee has turned our classrooms into political battlefields.”

Smith served in the House for six years, where he was among the most outspoken progressive activists in the Democratic minority. He was also the first openly gay Latino LGBTQ member of the House, and will soon hold the same distinction in the Senate.

He is the second gay man elected to the Senate, after Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Miami Gardens Democrat.

During his time in the House, Smith developed a reputation both as a progressive champion and a scorn of conservatives. The onetime Orange County Democratic Party Chair represented a University of Central Florida-centric district for three terms, first elected in 2016.

But after redistricting put him in a swing district covering parts of Orange and Seminole counties, he became a top target of House Republicans in 2022. Ultimately, now-Rep. Susan Plasencia defeated him, taking 52% of the vote in House District 37 to Smith’s 48%.

But Smith quickly made clear he would run for a legislative seat again. He announced in April 2023 he would run to succeed Stewart, who is term-limited.

“Orlando deserves representation in the Florida Senate who truly reflects our values. Someone people know and trust who will stand up for hard-working Floridians, who will work to solve real problems, and who will defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of all,” Smith said after winning the seat.

“The Orlando community sent a very clear message with their enthusiastic support and participation in this people-powered campaign — they reject the transactional politics that put profits over people time and time again; they want Tallahassee to solve problems rather than create them; and they want a champion who will stand up to extreme politicians and hold them accountable.”

Unlike HD 37, he ran this time in a heavily Democratic seat. For example, even as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist lost by 19 percentage points statewide, he won SD 17 with more than 54% of the vote to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 44%.

That meant the winner of the Democratic Primary was likely always going to succeed Stewart, an Orlando Democrat, in the Senate. Smith quickly lined up support in Democratic circles that ultimately discouraged a Democratic Primary challenge as well.

In January this year, the Florida Democratic Party issued Smith a rare endorsement for an open seat, signaling months ahead of qualifying that the party did not want a Democratic Primary. Smith also lined up support from unions in the region including the Central Florida AFL-CIO and the Orange County Classroom Teachers’ Association.

“This victory would not have been possible without the support of over 5,000 contributions from over 2,300 individual donors totaling more than $500,000 in support of the campaign,” he said.

“Over 200 volunteers who joined our people-powered movement, and an amazing campaign team that included Campaign Manager Allison Cassidy and Field Director Christopher Zoeller, as well as an experienced consulting team that included Resonance Campaigns, Spotlight Strategies, Evergreen Strategies, Conexion, and Lake Research, who each helped build a formidable operation that put in the work to win this election to the Florida Senate. It would also not have been possible without the support of my amazing husband Jerick as well as my family who have given me the love and support necessary to do this work for the people of Florida.”

Cassidy attributed the victory to Smith’s long-time reputation in the community. “This win is a testament to the trust and goodwill Carlos has built in Central Florida through his years of advocacy and public service,” he said. “From the very beginning, this campaign was built on and powered by a true grassroots movement of small dollar donations and volunteers right here in Senate District 17, which will ensure that Senator-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith will remain accountable to the people, not corporations and mega-donors.”

Other progressive contenders for the seat like Rep. Anna Eskamani stayed out of the race. Ultimately, he shored up support and no Democrats attempted a Democratic Primary challenge, and no Republican put in either for what would be a longshot race under any circumstance.