Jacob Ogles
Three Republicans and one Democrat have qualified to run to succeed outgoing state Rep. Debbie Mayfield in the Florida House. Mayfield was not among them.
A GOP Primary will be held April 1, which will determine the Republican nominee in House District 32.
Terrence Cronin, a dermatologist at the Cronin Skin Cancer Center, has already raised $25,000 and put down a $200,000 loan to boost his campaign.
But Brian Hodgers, owner of Complete Choice Insurance and Complete Choice Realty, has raised the most in outside support. He reported more than $283,000 at the end of 2024.
Bob White, head of the Brevard County Liberty Caucus, has raised more than $13,000 for the race, on top of a $100,000 loan.
All three Republicans filed in early December, shortly after Mayfield announced she would run in Senate District 19 after state Sen. Randy Fine announced he would vacate the seat to run for Congress.
The winner of the Primary will advance to a June 10 election against Juan Hinojosa, the only Democrat to qualify for the HD 32 seat.
Hinojosa, who filed in late January and hasn’t submitted his first fundraising report, ran against Mayfield for the seat in 2024. In that race, Hinojosa spent just over $7,000 on the race after raising about $1,300 and laying down a $3,900 candidate loan.
Mayfield won the heavily Republican district in November with more than 64% of the vote. The same night, about 59% of voters in the district supported Republican Donald Trump for President and GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s re-election.
The noon qualification on Wednesday for the HD 32 seat occurred amid a backdrop of controversy as the Department of State disqualified Mayfield from the ballot in a neighboring Senate race, saying her past service in the Senate made her ineligible because of term limits.
In order to run for Senate, state law required Mayfield to submit an irrevocable resignation of her House seat. She did have the opportunity to file in the Special Election in HD 32 to reclaim her seat, but did not and has vowed to fight her disqualification in court.
Mayfield’s campaign called rumors she would run for her seat “fake news” spread by “anti Trump RINOs.”
