Jacob Ogles
Rep. David Smith has raised more money than any Republican lawmaker seeking re-election this year. But he remains in one of the most closely watched House races in Florida: a rematch with Democrat Sarah Henry in House District 38.
Heading into Tuesday, the Winter Springs Republicans said he feels optimistic. “We have reached enough voters,” Smith said.
“I have been able to tell my story of my military service and combat experience in Iraq, about my legislative success passing 27 policy bills and securing 50 appropriation projects in the state budget for Central Florida, for fighting homelessness, funding our food banks, important things. That message resonates, that I’m doing the hard work that needs to be done in Tallahassee.”
Still, redistricting forced Smith in 2022 into a district where a majority of voters, 53%, had supported Democrat Joe Biden for President. He faced Henry that year in the General Election and won 52% of the vote himself as Gov. Ron DeSantis won a landslide re-election statewide.
But Henry outperformed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist in the district, and Democrats felt confident that only a red wave in the Midterms saved Smith. Henry said voters, if anything, feel more concerned this year about Smith’s right-wing voting record.
“His legislative record remains a rubber stamp on Gov. DeSantis’ whims and desires,” she said. “Voters in House District 38 deserve more care and thought than that.”
Smith, though, said he has one of the strongest records of any member of the House. That helped Seminole County come out a big winner in budget items approved by DeSantis in the last two Legislative Sessions. That included $2 million investment in Seminole County Public School’s health care career pipeline, $4.38 million for a workforce building at Seminole State College and about $378,000 for a student services center on the school’s Altamonte Springs campus.
One of his proudest regional budget wins, he said, was securing $5 million for a new Holocaust Museum in Orlando, which he worked on with Democratic Sen. Linda Stewart.
But Henry, who is running with the support of pro-choice EMILYs List, said Smith has failed a major segment of his constituency: women. She has savaged Smith for votes made since the overturning of Roe v. Wade that have made it practically impossible for women in Florida to legally obtain abortions.
“It’s important to highlight exactly the votes that our representation took, and now stand by, so that voters have a robust understanding of exactly what has passed through the committees he sits on,” Henry said.
Smith defends his vote on the abortion ban, saying he’s unapologetically pro-life and ready to support legislation that can make it to the floor. He also stressed that the six-week ban restored rape and incest exceptions dropped when the state instituted a 15-week abortion ban (which he also supported).
But Smith has taken great exception to ads Henry and Democrats released claiming Smith wanted to ban in vitro fertilization and birth control. Those ads were based on a bill that aimed to clarify that parents have a civil remedy if a negligent act results in the death of an unborn child. The measure died in the Senate as Democrats questioned whether that would grant personhood in the womb. Smith said that was a distortion of the legislation then, and Henry’s ads go further.
“She is trying to confuse voters and those are outright lies,” he said.
If he wins re-election, Smith will start a fourth and final term in the House before term limits prohibit another re-election run. He has stressed to voters the value that seniority within a Republican majority will have in the House, and that’s something voters intrinsically understand.
But that makes his vulnerability more striking this year. For example, out of 10 incumbent Representatives in districts identified by Florida Politics as the most likely to flip on Tuesday, Smith is the only non-freshman on the list.
As a result, he has spent massively, and was also aided by the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee. That has sometimes proven controversial, including attacks on Henry’s religious background and association with the American Humanist Association.
“I remain proud and happy we chose to focus this campaign on policy, on Rep. Smith’s voting record,” Henry said. “I am disappointed he chose to attack the personal faith of myself and a growing population of Americans. I think the level of vitriol surprised me.”
Smith called Henry an avowed atheist, but said more importantly, her work with the humanist group included derisive comments that were clearly anti-Christian. “Voters have a right to know she said that,” he said. “She has never denied it but she hides from it and that’s a disservice.”
