Janelle Irwin Taylor
Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Christine Miller to the Hillsborough County Commission in District 4.
Miller will replace Michael Owen, who resigned to run for House District 70.
“I’m incredibly humbled by the confidence the Governor has placed in me to serve my community on the County Commission. I will work day and night to live up to the trust he’s placed in me and I’m very eager to get to work to serve the residents of District 4 to meet our challenges head on and seize on the opportunities ahead,” Miller said.
The appointment comes less than two months before the GOP Primary for District 4, in which Miller faces fellow Republican Cody Powell. The winner will face either Jonathon Chavez or Nicole Payne, who are competing for the Democratic nomination, and no-party-affiliated candidate Matthew Taylor.
Miller is the heavy favorite in the GOP Primary, and in the General Election for the heavily conservative seat where Republicans have nearly 40,000 more registered voters than Democrats.
Miller has raised nearly $110,000 for her campaign, with about $87,000 of that still on hand. She has raised an additional $400,000-plus through her political committee, Friends of Christine Miller, and nearly all of it still available.
Miller is the current President and CEO of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce. She’s lived in Hillsborough County for more than 30 years.
She was part of the effort to establish the Plant City Partnership, which aligned the objectives of the Plant City Chamber, the Economic Development Corporation and Main Street.
She previously worked to overhaul the United Food Bank, exceeding her own personal goal of serving more than one million people in need.
Miller initially was running for the District 6 seat held by Democrat Pat Kemp, who is term-limited and is now running for Congress. But Miller switched to the District 4 race after Owen announced his bid for HD 70 following Rep. Mike Beltran’s surprise retirement.
Miller’s switch to District 4 could be good news for the remaining Republicans in the District 6 race. None of the three candidates in the race — Rico Smith, Jim Davison and Chris Boles — have raised more that $50,000. Of the three, Smith has raised the most with more than $47,000.
And it could also be good news for Democrats looking to keep the seat. Sean Shaw is running after other Democrats exited the race. He’s raised nearly $105,000, with another $68,000 raised through his affiliated political committee, Friends of Sean Shaw.
