Jacob Ogles
One of the biggest surprises on Election Day in 2022 came when Republican Paula Stark won the race in deep-blue House District 47. But Democrats foresee different results Tuesday, when they expect Democrat Maria Revelles to take the seat back.
“When I watched my district flip red while I was fighting cancer, I promised myself that if I won that battle, I would work to restore honest representation to this district,” Revelles said. “Today, I am proud to run for HD 47, with a coalition of community support, to bring back a Florida where we can all live with dignity and hope for a better tomorrow.
The race was always expected to be competitive under any circumstance this election cycle. And that was before spending scandals involving both Stark’s official expense accounts and political committee activity made headlines.
Stark in 2022 won by a narrow 878-vote margin over Anthony Nieves, an avowed Democratic socialist. Republicans had overperformed statewide in a red wave cycle where Gov. Ron DeSantis secured a 19-percentage-point landslide re-election. Democrats had invested little in the Osceola-Orange seat, and the Republican Party of Florida didn’t invest until after the Primary, when it made a $10,000 contribution to Stark and little after that.
This year, both parties have their eyes on the seat. Book closing reports show almost 40,000 Democrats registered in the district, compared to just over 29,000 Republicans and almost 40,000 other voters.
Stark does enjoy an advantage in fundraising. The incumbent raised more than $71,000 in her candidate account this cycle, and as of Oct. 31 had almost $29,000 in cash on hand. By comparison, Revelles raised just over $60,000 and closed the last reporting period with less than $8,000 in the bank. The Friends of Maria Revelles committee raised almost $101,000 to support the Democrat and wrapped the period with almost $8,000 for the final days of the race.
It’s unclear, though, what’s in Stark’s Friends of Paula committee account. As of Oct. 18, the account had raised almost $97,000 and had more than $5,000 cash, but it hasn’t filed end of month reports. The committee notably received a letter from the Division of Elections on Oct. 14 demanding the committee address missing information in its reports. That audit letter came after a final notice on a $500 fine, just the latest financial penalty on the committee.
That’s not the first time the committee faced trouble. As of July, that committee had spent more than it drew in except for a loan from a business connected to Stark’s boyfriend, Joel Davis, the committee Chair. The committee at that point had been fined more than $11,000, and had reported an excessive amount of fines for “entertainment advocating candidate.”
Additionally, the Orlando Sentinel this Summer broke news that Stark’s Office campaign expense account had been suspended for similar failures to timely report.
Notably, the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee has offered far more direct party support to Revelles than Republicans has to Stark. But the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee has run negative ads against Revelles and independently rallied support for the incumbent.
“In response to my campaign, Stark has resorted to spreading lies and creating visuals with stereotypes that demean and hurt our Latino community,” Revelles said. “These attacks aim to distract from her fiscal mismanagement and disregard for the values of HD 47 residents. Stark’s relentless pursuit of a personal agenda has kept her from serving our community with integrity.”
Stark has also stressed her work for the district. In her first term, she sponsored policy bills that became law, including a vessel regulation law in 2023 and a mobile lot tenant law and a corrections contractor law in 2024.
“Thank you for the opportunity to serve you the last two years,” Stark said in a campaign video.
“It’s been an honor to be a voice for our community. Since I’ve been in office, I’ve passed four bills and co-sponsored dozens of others, most all of which came from community leads, and brought home more than $7 million in appropriations projects. I look forward to continuing the mobile home initiatives, veterans services, mental health services, as well as paying jobs, protecting home rule, advocating for disability communities and continuing efforts to address property insurance.”
Revelles said he would bring a far different vision to office than Stark, who she said contributed to divisive culture wars and harmful cuts to important efforts.
“Florida has always represented opportunity, a place where people of all backgrounds could thrive with safety, dignity, and respect. Today, those ideals are threatened by an agenda that disrupts the well-being of working families, divides communities, and slows our progress toward a fair, sustainable future for everyone,” Revelles said.
“As a workers’ leader, climate activist and community organizer, I’m fighting to restore a vision for Florida where dignity, security and opportunity are realities for all. I want a state where women have full autonomy over their bodies and health care decisions; where working families can afford to live without constant fear and economic insecurity and with access to health care; and also where schools serve as cornerstones of the community, free from political agendas and supportive of both teachers and students.”
