Jacob Ogles
Former Rep. Travaris McCurdy wants to return to the halls of the House. The Orlando Democrat will file Tuesday to run in a Special Election in House District 40.
“I am looking to go back to finish what I started, not just as a former member, but finish the work that I’ve started as a former aide,” McCurdy told Florida Politics. “With over a decade of experience in this process, I think it’s very beneficial, myself, as a resident in this district, that we have somebody that can speak to the issues, that knows the residents, and that also has an understanding of the work ahead.”
That makes him the second candidate to file for the seat being vacated by Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis so she can run for Senate. RaShon Young, Bracy Davis’ former Chief of Staff, filed for the open seat last week.
But McCurdy enters the field as the most experienced campaigner. He won election to the House initially in 2020, but lost in a Democratic Primary two years later to Bruce Antone, who currently represents House District 41. McCurdy also ran last year for the Orlando City Council, though he lost that Special Election to now-City Commissioner Shan Rose.
Even that race, though, gave McCurdy experience running on an accelerated timeline of a Special Election. He moved to House District 40 in November following a recent marriage, and was in place when a series of political developments occurred following the death of Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a onetime mentor of McCurdy.
“God puts you in places,” McCurdy said. “I tell people, if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready. I stay ready. I stay in the fight, I stay abreast of the issues, I stay working. I think that’s what people will see. I think people do respect that about me. I’m consistent with the work. I’m consistent with my efforts. I’m consistent with my message. And I’m always here to just find solutions to problems.”
In the years since he held elected office, McCurdy said he has remained engaged, managing small businesses for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and regularly working with contractors and subcontractors in the region.
As a lawmaker, he served as a Democratic Whip in his freshman term. He also notably led headline-making actions like leading a sit-in during the Special Election to pass Gov. Ron DeSantis’ congressional map. McCurdy defended that controversial maneuver as the best way possible to ensure the public knew the ramifications of a map that diminished minority representation.
“People at home don’t understand the language of amendments all the time,” he said. “People at home don’t even understand what the word ‘appropriations’ means. In the district where I served at that time, people did understand the language of protest.”
Now, McCurdy is running in an adjacent seat, one where he attended high school and where members of his family long called home. But the changes in life that impacted where he runs also may alter his approach as a legislator, he said.
“In my previous service and prior to that, although I was a father, I wasn’t a full-fledged family man,” he said.
“Becoming married, a lot of the issues that I even fought for or was vocal about in Tallahassee, they just hit different now. Raising daughters, having a wife, all these women being born with more rights than they afforded today, those are some of the things that are important to me. So being a father, being a husband, just wearing that mantle, I’m bringing that with me to Tallahassee. I’m not just an individual anymore.”
