Gabrielle Russon
Nonprofit leader Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet is kicking off his campaign for incumbent state Rep. Anna’s Eskamani’s House District 42 Tuesday.
Eskamani, who is term-limited and already endorsed the fellow Democrat, is expected to attend the event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at The Abbey, located at 100 S. Eola Dr. in Orlando.
Sousa-Lazaballet said he expects to have 200 supporters attend as part of his “people-powered” campaign that’s raised nearly $48,000 since June 30, according to the last campaign finance records.
“It’s not powered by big corporations or big money. It’s powered by everyday people who are simply saying, ‘This is the Florida that we deserve, and we are willing to do what it takes to make sure that we can thrive together,” he said.
So far, the only other candidate who has filed to run in the November 2026 race is Republican Bonnie Jackson, a lawyer and former assistant district attorney in Houston. Jackson filed for the office last week, marking the second time Jackson has run for HD 42 since she lost to Eskamani in 2022. Then, Jackson got just 43% of the vote.
Jackson and Sousa-Lazaballet are ideological opposites as they compete to represent the blue district that includes much of downtown Orlando, the Orlando suburbs Maitland, Eatonville and Winter Park. The district’s electorate is 38% Democratic, with less than 32% registered Republicans, according to the most recent L2 voter data.
In her 2022 campaign, Jackson said she believes public schools are indoctrinating students with progressive propaganda and backed the controversial parental rights law that earned the nickname “Don’t Say Gay.” She also supported mandatory E-Verify to crack down on employers hiring undocumented workers.
In an interview ahead of his Tuesday launch, Sousa-Lazaballet said his biggest priorities include funding public schools, helping Floridians facing affordability challenges and protecting the environment as climate change creates more powerful storms.
“We are wasting time instead of actually pushing for real solutions. My Republican colleagues in Tallahassee are fighting cultural wars, trying to take away rights from immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ kids. Their priorities are wrong,” he said. “I believe that instead of banning books, they should be making sure that our environment is protected and our infrastructure is resilient against these storms.”
Sousa-Lazaballet is the Executive Director of the Hope CommUnity Center and has been outspoken in the community against President Donald Trump’s agenda for mass deportations for undocumented immigrants. It’s personal for him.
“My personal story is one of the most American stories of all American stories,” said Sousa-Lazaballet, who immigrated to the United States 24 years ago from Brazil.
Sousa-Lazaballet, now 39, spent 15 years as undocumented immigrant before he became a U.S. citizen in 2021.
“I voted for the first time in 2022, so now to have this opportunity to run for office, it really shows that the American Dream is still alive,” he said. “I know firsthand how broken the immigration system is, and instead of penalizing the people who are working hard to build our communities … we should be finding ways to support them into becoming even a bigger asset in our community and in our economy.”
