Gabrielle Russon
In the State Attorney’s race in Orange and Osceola counties, media and the public have focused chiefly on Monique Worrell, the state attorney whom Gov. Ron DeSantis removed from office, and Andrew Bain, her DeSantis-appointed replacement.
In the drama, it was easy to overlook Seth Hyman, the Republican on the ballot who won his August Primary. Even though he is running as an independent, Bain had major Republican support, joining the governor at press conferences.
Now, Hyman has announced he is dropping out.
That leaves Bain and Worrell, a Democrat, to battle alone in the November General Election for the 9th Judicial Circuit state attorney in Orange and Osceola counties.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Worrell said, “Make no mistake there is still a Republican challenger remaining in this campaign and his name is Andrew Bain. No matter how he tries to spin it by claiming to be an independent, Bain is the favored candidate of the most powerful Republican in Florida Ron DeSantis. Bain is DeSantis’ handpicked puppet and this November we are fighting to ensure that residents once again have a democratically elected State Attorney with the courage and independence needed to ensure we keep our communities safe.”
Hyman, who is endorsing Bain, cited his opponents’ better-funded campaign finances as the reason he was withdrawing. He previously spent more than $80,000 leading up to the Aug. 20 Republican Primary after raising about $55,000 and loaning nearly $26,000 to his campaign.
“I am a practical and pragmatic person, and I know that to win a general election of this size, it takes a considerable amount of financial resources,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
Hyman said what inspired him to run was to keep Worrell out of office.
“In order to give this community the best chance of not seeing a second term for Monique Worrell, I have decided to withdraw from the State Attorney’s race and will not appear on the General Election ballot. I do not want the anti-Worrell vote to be split, and I am willing to make this major sacrifice to further that purpose,” Hyman said.
Hyman said he supports Bain, calling him a tough and strong leader. He then attacked Worrell, accusing her of being soft on crime.
“Monique Worrell was merely the unpopular elected official who everyone that I met at farmers markets asked if she was ‘the lady who kept letting everyone out of jail.’ Victims of crime would regularly reach out to me expressing their support,” Hyman said in his statement.
Worrell said during her tenure, violent crime was the lowest in the 9th circuit in the past decade.
Bain and Worrell are scheduled to debate twice this month in Central Florida. The first debate is Sept. 11 at the League of Women Voters of Orange County (LWV) forum in Winter Park followed by a Sept. 20 event at Tiger Bay Club of Central Florida.
