Guest Author
Last night, Brian Hodgers, a small-business owner from Brevard County, won the Republican Primary for Florida House District 32. His victory was well-deserved, and it highlights what issues are important to and resonate with voters.
You see, Hodgers is a business and community leader in Brevard County, owning his own real estate company and two insurance agencies.
At a time when insurance is a topic of much discussion in the Capitol and the media, it’s clear that conservative voters saw his firsthand experience with the issue as a positive, not a negative. That’s likely because Hodgers is a knowledgeable source on an important and complex issue, and voters felt they could trust his judgment on policies that could impact it.
Regarding Florida’s insurance market, Hodgers has expressed that the reforms passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature have a positive impact while acknowledging that more could be done to take on bad actors who abuse our legal system. He’s campaigned to keep these reforms in place but is doing even more to stop frivolous lawsuits and establish stricter penalties for fraudulent claims.
By selecting him as the Republican candidate in the race for House District 32, a seat heavily favored to be won by Republicans, conservative voters are expressing their support for his strategy. He’s pledged to make addressing insurance rates a top priority, but casting a vote for Hodgers over his opponents shows that voters don’t just support doing something generally; they support his specific ideas for how best to get it done.
Beyond his expertise in the insurance industry, the fact that Hodgers is himself a business owner is sure to make him an essential advocate for Florida’s business community. He wants to rein in government bureaucracy and spending, lower taxes, improve infrastructure, and promote prosperity. AIFPAC was proud to be among the first organizations to endorse Hodgers in early March, along with the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and the Florida Association of Realtors.
But even more important than our organizations’ support for his positions is that his victory last night shows that Florida voters support them as well.
We look forward to continuing to support Hodgers in the race for House District 32 through the general election in June and to hopefully working with him in the Florida House to keep Florida thriving.
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Brewster Bevis is president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida.
