Adam Anderson ‘humbled’ by North Pinellas voters’ trust after easy win in HD 57

Rep. Adam Anderson scored an easy victory this week, defeating Democratic challenger Kelly Johnson with nearly 59% of the vote in House District 57.

Anderson’s victory comes as little surprise — 42% of the electorate is Republican, compared to just 26% who are registered Democrats, according to L2 voter data. And money was overwhelmingly on Anderson’s side. Johnson raised less than $15,000 while Anderson’s campaign brought in more than $170,000. Anderson left nearly $50,000 in the bank at the end of the campaign, as of the end of October. And that’s not counting access to outside spending.

An independent candidate, Bob Arthur Larrivee, secured less than 3% of the vote after raising just over $1,500.

Anderson’s district covers parts of north Pinellas County, including Palm Harbor, East Lake and Tarpon Springs. His campaign attributes the big win not just to district demographics, but to Anderson’s work on issues that matter to residents, including lowering auto insurance costs, growing the economy, addressing high health care and prescription costs, protecting the environment and working to make the area more resilient in the face of more frequent and stronger hurricanes.

The campaign also credited support from local officials following Anderson’s work during and after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including a public recognition from Tarpon Springs Police Chief Jeff Young at a recent Tarpon Springs City Commission meeting.

“One person who really stepped up and shined was state Rep. Adam Anderson. When the power was out at the hospital, he worked through the State EOC tirelessly to get it restored and was instrumental in bringing fuel to St. Pete College to help ease anxiety in the community,” Young said of Anderson at the meeting.

Anderson also received a number of endorsements, including from Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the Police Benevolent Association and the Florida Professional Firefighters.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be chosen by the people of North Pinellas to represent them in Tallahassee,” Anderson said of his re-election. “I’m humbled by their trust and fired up to continue fighting for our shared values. To everyone who supported this campaign — thank you. Your faith in me pushes me to work even harder for our community.”

As he prepares for his next term, Anderson has already begun his legislative agenda, including plans to hold insurance companies accountable and lower insurance premiums, support hurricane resiliency and support medical research at local universities to position Florida as a national leader in genetic and precision medicine.

That last priority is personal for Anderson. His son Andrew suffered from Tay-Sachs disease, a rare fatal genetic disorder with only 16 cases annually nationwide, on average. Andrew was just 4 years old when he passed.

Anderson sponsored successful legislation earlier this year to create a grant program to fund scientific and clinical research on rare diseases, such as the one that impacted his son.

The grant program is named for Anderson’s son — the Andrew John Anderson Pediatric Rare Disease Grant Program. Since his son’s death, Anderson and his family have been active in advancing research in rare diseases through the Cure Tay Sachs Foundation and their AJ Anderson Foundation. Anderson previously worked with former House Speaker Chris Sprowls to create Tay Sachs Awareness Day in Florida on Aug. 10, Andrew’s birthday.

“We’ve got work to do, and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get it done,” Anderson said. “The people have spoken, and they want results. That’s exactly what I intend to deliver.”

Anderson also praised Republican victories up and down the ticket, including legislative races that secured a continued GOP supermajority. “With a strong Republican team in Tallahassee and a like-minded administration in Washington, we’re poised to achieve great things for Florida,” Anderson said. “The future is bright, and I’m honored to be part of shaping it.”