La Rosa defeats Game in House of Representative District 42 race

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La Rosa defeats Game in House of Representative District 42 race

County News

Thursday, 08 November 2012 07:47

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer
Despite a late start to the campaign after his predecessor abruptly dropped out, Celebration realtor Mike La Rosa won the House of Representatives District 42 race by a slim margin against Polk County Democrat Eileen Game.
With both Osceola and Polk counties reporting all precincts, La Rosa took 50.49 percent of the vote, or 31,828 ballots, just .985 percent more than Game, who earned 31,207 votes, or 49.51 percent.
Each candidate won their own county, with La Rosa taking Osceola County with 53 percent of the vote and Game winning Polk County with 54 percent of the vote.
La Rosa only began his campaign in late September after Mike Horner dropped out of the race after his name was linked to a suspected Orange County brothel.
La Rosa was pleased his commitment to the campaign and the hard work of the Osceola County Republican Party both paid off, although he admitted he was tired after a fast-paced 42-day campaign.
“At the end of the day, this was what we wanted,” he said Wednesday morning, adding many people said his bid was impossible to win. “We certainly knew we had hurdles with time and the ballot issue.”
La Rosa had an uphill battle as his name was not on the ballot; Horner rescinded from the race after the ballots were printed. Part of La Rosa’s campaign included reminding voters a vote was Horner was actually a vote for La Rosa.
Danny Sexton, chairman of the Osceola County Republican Party, led the effort to inform voters of the ballot issue via recorded telephone calls and in a media blitz. Sexton, also helped choose La Rosa as Horner’s replacement.
La Rosa is now focused on improving the district, starting with job growth and creation.
“I’m looking to attract higher paying jobs to the area,” he said. “Looking at (election) night, we’ve got to come together a little bit and cross party lines and make the communities a bit stronger.”
For State House District 43, Democrat Ricardo Rangel took the Osceola County vote with 67.69 percent to beat out Republican Art Otero, who is currently vice mayor of Kissimmee, who had 32.31 percent.
Partisan races to continue
Osceola County voters also voted Tuesday to keep County Commissioner races partisan, an issue that landed on the ballot after a push by the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce, led by Horner, its then-president.
The measured barely failed with 50.50 percent of voters (46,507 ballots cast) checking no on their ballot.
Horner, a Republican, claimed the races should be non-partisan as a way to open primary elections to all party voters, including those registered as independent. Additionally, non-partisan races would encourage voters to research candidates more thoroughly rather than just voting along party lines.
However, Democrat County Commissioners Brandon Arrington and Michael Harford argued Republicans want the races non-partisan due to more than double the number of Democrats and independents being registered in Osceola County.
According to the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections office, 72,065 voters are registered Democrat, 43,853 are registered Republican and 43,997 are registered as independent, with 5,203 residents registered under another political party such as the Libertarian Party.
Additionally, those in opposition of non-partisan elections cited that those races, including those held by the Osceola County School Board and the cities of St. Cloud and Kissimmee, often have a lower voter rate due to people not knowing what party a candidate is affiliated with, and are usually during a primary held earlier than the general election.