Staff Reports
Rep. Sean Shaw and firefighter Chris Boles are vying to succeed Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Kemp, who is term-limited out of office and is running for Congress.
District 6 of Hillsborough County is likely Democrats’ best chance to win a race after losing control of Hillsborough County to Republicans in 2022.
A Sept. 12 poll showed Shaw leading Boles 45% to 41%, with 14% of voters still undecided at the time, meaning there was plenty of room for either candidate to grow support ahead of Election Day. Shaw’s lead was also within the poll’s margin of error, which was 4.6 percentage points.
Shaw also leads Boles in fundraising. Shaw has raised just shy of $184,000 while Boles has raised almost $160,000, according to the most recent campaign finance reports on file with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office, covering financial activity through Oct. 18.
Hailing from Seminole Heights, Shaw is a lawyer specializing in insurance consumer protection. He was the first Black nominee for Attorney General, although he lost that bid. Shaw also served in the House from 2016 to 2018.
Shaw’s campaign focuses on housing affordability, increasing public school funding and improving transit options.
Boles is a Battalion Chief with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and is the Executive Director of Hillsborough County Firefighter Charities. Boles’ campaign platform includes conservative priorities, such as reining in wasteful spending, as well as other less partisan issues such as handling exploding growth in the east and south of the county and improving emergency response times.
Both candidates also list the improvement of roads and other infrastructure as a priority.
Democrats have a slight voter registration advantage in the county — District 6 is an at-large seat, meaning it is voted on countywide — with 295,500 voters compared to 289,218 Republicans.
It’s a key race for Democrats this cycle as they try to stave off further losses on the dais. Democrats lost their majority just two years ago during what turned out to be a red wave year throughout Florida. Two Democratic incumbents were unseated — Kimberly Overman and Mariella Smith — while Harry Cohen, also a Democrat, narrowly held onto his seat. Republicans currently enjoy a 4-3 advantage. If Shaw wins his race, that makeup will likely remain unchanged. If he loses, Republicans’ majority would almost certainly increase to 5-2.
Commission Districts 2 and 4 are also on the ballot this cycle, but Republicans are expected to land easy wins in those races, with Ken Hagan favored for re-election in District 2 and Christine Miller, a current appointee to District 4, expected to easily win there.
For perspective in those races, Hagan has raised more than $341,000 for his race, compared to just over $35,000 for his Democratic challenger, Patricia Alonzo. Miller, meanwhile, has banked nearly $149,000 for her race, compared to less than $20,000 for her Democratic challenger, Nicole Payne.
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Naomi Risch reporting.
