Michele Rayner launches bid to replace Darryl Rouson in Senate

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 3/8/24-Rep. Michele K. Rayner-Goolsby, D-St. Petersburg, right, is joined by Reps. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, left, and Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, while she speaks during Session, Friday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Rep. Michele Rayner is eyeing a move to the Legislature’s upper chamber, launching a bid for the Senate District 16 seat.

Rayner, who announced her campaign Monday, would replace Sen. Darryl Rouson, who is not seeking re-election in 2026 due to term limits.

“I’ve dedicated my life to protecting the civil rights of every Floridian as an attorney and community leader. I ran for the Florida House after seeking justice for a man who was killed because of Florida’s stand your ground laws,” Rayner said, referring to Markeis McGlockton, who was shot and killed in 2018 during a parking space dispute.

No charges were initially filed, with Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri citing the state’s Stand Your Ground law. But Michael Drejka was eventually charged and found guilty of manslaughter in a case that was ultimately upheld by an appeals court.

Rayner was first elected to the House in 2020, and was subsequently re-elected in 2022, winning with an overwhelming 82% of the vote in Pinellas and 62% in Hillsborough against a Republican candidate who was, at the time, jailed on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. She easily won re-election again this year.

Her victories over Republican candidates are largely driven by Rayner’s House District 62 demographics. Of the south St. Pete-anchored district’s electorate, half of voters are registered Democrats, while just 20% are Republicans, according to the most recent voter registration data from the Pinellas and Hillsborough County Supervisors of Elections Offices.

SD 16 isn’t quite as blue as Rayner’s current House district, but it’s still a safe seat for Democrats, with 47% of the district’s voters registered as Democrats, compared to just 23% as Republicans.

Rayner would also expand her constituency to Hillsborough County if elected in SD 16. The district includes parts of Rayner’s current district in south St. Pete, but adds a large swath of western Hillsborough.

As of Monday morning, the only candidate filed in the race for SD 16 was Amaro Lionheart, also known as Nelson Amador, a Republican. Rayner defeated Lionheart in her House race this year.

Lionheart also ran briefly in Florida’s 14th Congressional District in the 2024 cycle before dropping out to challenge Rayner. In 2022, Lionheart challenged Sen. Ed Hooper in Senate District 21 as a Democrat. Lionheart briefly ran for Governor in 2022 as a Democrat, but withdrew from that race.

Rayner’s Senate bid means she will leave the House early, with another two-year term still available before she reaches term limits. But Rayner said with Rouson leaving office, it was a good time to consider her next steps.

“I’m really proud of the work I’ve done in the House,” Rayner said, adding that she believes the best path forward for her constituency, and potential future constituency, is to continue that work in the Senate.

She pointed to social media legislation she sponsored (HB 1) that would have banned kids under 16 from creating social media accounts. The measure cleared the Legislature, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it.

The bill was a bipartisan effort to protect kids, Rayner said, but it was also an example of how Democrats can work across the aisle while facing a Republican supermajority to achieve impactful goals.

Working from the Senate, Rayner said she believes she’ll have more opportunity to expand on successes, including on areas where she hasn’t had much luck in the House, such as food insecurity.

In the 2024 Legislative Session, Rayner filed a bill (HB 1359) that would have enacted land development regulations to allow permits for small-footprint grocery stores in food insecure areas. She withdrew the bill prior to its introduction due to lack of support. It would have been impactful for her district, where residents in the Midtown neighborhood have long gone without access to a local grocery store after past stores failed to thrive. Local leaders believe a smaller footprint grocery store may offer the best solution for what is currently considered a food desert.

“As a Senator, you can carry more bills, and can focus on things that are really meaningful,” Rayner said. The upper chamber also has historically been more friendly to legislation sponsored by members of the minority party. Rouson, for example, has a leadership position in the Senate this year, as Vice Chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

But Rayner, a civil rights lawyer by trade, has no intention of backing off her advocacy.

“In the State House, I’ve stood up to Ron DeSantis’ out of control agenda that has attacked the civil rights of workers, educators and parents, Black and Brown Floridians, our LGBTQ+ community, and women’s reproductive rights,” said Rayner, who has supported legislation seeking to restore reproductive freedom and reverse anti-LGBTQ laws in schools.

“I’m proud to announce my candidacy for the State Senate where I’ll continue to hold members of the majority party, state and federal government accountable to Florida families, bring resources back to our community, and fight for every Floridian,” she added. “I know right now we need leaders who will work to bring our communities together instead of leaders who are fighting for a radical agenda by dividing us.”

The key to success in a state that is growing more and more red by the cycle, Rayner says, is to talk directly to voters.

“I speak to things that matter to them, like property insurance, access to a safe place to live, good schools, those are things that aren’t Republican or Democrat,” she said.

Rayner is the first Democrat to announce her intention to run for SD 16 in 2026, but she’s not likely to be the only one. The rumor mill hasn’t yet begun to churn with almost two years before the General Election in 2026, but there are some familiar names to watch for, including Ed Narain and Wengay Newton. Newton held Rayner’s House seat before her, when it was HD 70, which could mean he’d try again for that seat rather than launch a bid for the Senate.

As of Monday morning, no one had filed to run in Rayner’s House district, though that is likely to change after news of her intention to run for Senate.

“I’m still working on my campaign priorities,” Rayner said. “But it will include what is most important to the constituents. And I will ensure constituents know they will have access to me like they’ve always had access to me.”