Jacob Ogles
Five candidates have qualified for a Special Election in Senate District 15 to determine who succeeds the late Sen. Geraldine Thompson. That sets the board for a race that involves sibling rivalry and an attempted political comeback in a contest to replace a revered civil rights figure.
Democrats Coretta Anthony-Smith, Randolph Bracy, LaVon Bracy Davis and Alan Grayson all qualified for a June 24 Democratic Primary, where a winner will advance to a Sept. 2 Special Election. Republican Willie Montague was the only member of his party to qualify, winning the GOP nomination outright.
But the seat leans heavily Democratic. Thompson faced no General Election opposition there in 2024. Meanwhile, nearly 61% of voters in SD 15 voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for President, while less than 38% supported Republican Donald Trump, according to MCI Maps. That means the Democratic Primary will likely draw the most interest.
That will be accentuated by a sister-against-brother battle between Bracy Davis, a sitting state Representative, and Bracy, a former state Senator.
Bracy unsuccessfully challenged Thompson for the seat last year but lost in a Democratic Primary. Before that race, Bracy served from 2016 to 2022. He ran for Congress in 2022, but lost to now-U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost in a Democratic Primary. Following Thompson’s death, he quickly signaled he would run for the Senate seat again and formally filed for the Special Election this month.
Meanwhile, Bracy Davis has presented herself as the chosen heir to Thompson’s seat, standing alongside family members of the late Senator when Bracy Davis announced her candidacy last month. She has submitted a resignation from her House District 40 seat, effective Sept. 1, in order to run for Senate. Bracy Davis holds the advantage of being the only candidate in the race currently holding office.
But members of the Bracy family aren’t the only veteran politicians in the race. Grayson, a former U.S. Representative, made an unexpected entry into the race this week. He represented Central Florida in Congress from 2009 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2017. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2016 but lost in the Democratic Primary. He also ran in the 2022 congressional Primary and lost to Frost. Last year, he ran unsuccessfully for Florida Senate in Senate District 25 but lost to now-state Sen. Kristen Arrington.
Anthony-Smith is the political newcomer in the Democratic field. An Ocoee lawyer, she filed for the seat on April 9. She hasn’t reported any fundraising to date, but financial disclosures show her net worth at greater than $12 million, showcasing an ability to self-fund in the short election cycle.
Montague, founder of faith-based rehab nonprofit House of Timothy, also hasn’t reported fundraising. But his presence in the race already significantly changes the dynamic from the last time the seat was on the ballot.
The Democratic Primary in 2024 was open to all SD 15 voters because it decided the race definitively. But for the Special Election, the Democratic Primary will be open only to registered Democrats. The winner will then face Montague in September.
Of note, Gov. Ron DeSantis called a Special Election to fill Bracy Davis’ House District 40 seat at the same time as the SD 15 Special Election. But qualification for that contest will take place next week, with the deadline to qualify at noon on April 30. As of now, no candidates have filed for that seat.
