Former city Mayor, Donald Trump-endorsed nonprofit chief clash for open HD 94 seat

A pair of markedly different candidates are competing for an open Florida House seat representing a western, largely agricultural swath of Palm Beach County.

In the blue corner is Democrat Rachelle Litt, who served on the Palm Beach Gardens Council from 2017 to 2023, including as the city’s Mayor and Vice Mayor.

Through Oct. 26, Litt had raised $247,400 and spent $199,000 on her campaign for House District 94.

Her opponent in the red corner, Republican animal sanctuary executive Meg Weinberger, amassed and expended more than thrice that sum: $851,000 raised and $807,000 spent.

Much of that went toward defeating three Republican Primary opponents, whom Weinberger soundly toppled with 48% of the vote.

By then, she had clinched endorsements from Donald Trump, U.S. Reps. Matt Gaetz and Gus Bilirakis, former newscaster Kari Lake, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and state Reps. Mike Caruso and Randy Fine — earning her the nickname “MAGA Meg” from Real America’s Voice anchor Gina Loudon, who also endorsed her.

Litt, a 69-year-old pharmacist consultant, hopes if elected to work on and support legislation that alleviates housing unaffordability, addresses the insurance crisis and protects reproductive rights if Amendment 4 fails.

She also hopes to expand access to health care by tamping down on costs, raise teacher pay and boost Florida’s medical workforce through trade development programs.

Her endorsers include U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel; state Sens. Lori Berman and Tina Polsky; state Reps. Tae Edmonds, Kelly Skidmore and Katherine Waldron; and six Palm Beach County School Board members.

SEIU Florida, 3.14 Action Fund, Palm Beach Gardens Firefighters Local 5470 and the Palm Beach County chapter of the Classroom Teachers Association are also backing her.

Weinberger, a 51-year-old first-time candidate, runs Rescue Life, a Palm Beach Gardens nonprofit that provides a haven to unwanted or abused animals and partners with other local charities, including the Dream Ride Foundation and ELS for Autism.

Previously, she was the Vice President of Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee.

According to its last financial filing, Rescue Life took in more than $614,000 in 2022 and spent close to $510,500. Weinberger reported forgoing a salary from the organization, which holds a two- out of four-star rating on Charity Navigator.

Weinberger agrees with Litt that high home insurance rates and affordable housing issues need more attention in the Legislature. She wants to do more to support Florida’s agricultural industry, support the state’s school voucher program and increase technical and vocational training.

She’s also for cracking down on illegal immigration, prohibiting trans procedures for minors and is anti-abortion, preferring to instead increase health services for pregnant and postpartum women.

Her organizational supporters include the Florida Fraternal Order of Police, Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association, Business Political Action Committee of Palm Beach County and Born to Ride for 45.

On Oct. 28, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man who allegedly threatened and made antisemitic comments toward a woman campaigning for Weinberger. Later on X, Weinberger thanked Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and others in his office for their swift action, adding, “When I first decided to run for office, I had no idea this is part of what you sign up for, but it will not deter me from my pursuit to serve our community in the Florida House of Representatives.”

Earlier in the month, Weinberger shared a Trump campaign video of a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor criticizing Kamala Harris for calling Trump a “fascist” and likening him to Adolf Hitler. Harris’ comments came after Trump’s former Chief of Staff, John Kelly, said that the former President had privately said that “Hitler did some good things” and praised the work of “German generals.”

She used another video detailing how three illegal immigrants were recently arrested in Palm Beach County for lewd and lascivious behavior on a minor under 12 to attack her opponent, writing, “Radical Rachelle Litt thinks the wide open southern border doesn’t affect Florida.”

Litt’s campaign platform includes no mention of illegal immigration, for or against, as the issue is typically handled at the federal level.

Litt and Weinberger are competing for the HD 94 seat that Republican state Rep. Rick Roth must leave due to term limits. The district covers all or parts of Belle Glade, Pahokee, Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, South Bay and Westlake.

President Joe Biden won HD 94 by an extremely narrow margin (0.08 percentage points) in 2020. Two years later, Gov. Ron DeSantis crushed Democrat Charlie Crist there by more than 15 points, according to MCI Maps.

As of Oct. 17, Republicans in the district had a 2,924-voter advantage in HD 94, or roughly a 3-percentage-point lead over Democrats, data from the Florida Division of Election shows.

The General Election is on Nov. 5.