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A pair of candidates in a election for the third calendar-year in a row will face off for the vacated Florida State House of Representatives district 35 seat; the election day is Jan. 16 but polls will open and vote-by-mail ballots will go out sooner. -
Erika Booth -
Tom Keen
After one holiday and leading into another, most of us just want a little time to decompress before ramping back up again.
For Erika Booth and Tom Keen, they don’t have that luxury — if they want to represent eastern Osceola and Orange counties in Tallahassee come January.
They were the winners of Republican and Democratic primaries for the State House of Representatives for a district 35 special election on Jan. 16. The seat became open when Rep. Fred Hawkins left the Legislature to become school president of South Florida State College in Avon Park.
It may feel less like the Christmas season and more like Groundhog Day for the two of them. Keen, a simulation training entrepreneur out of Lake Nona, ran for this seat in 2022. And Booth, a St. Cloud educator, ran for and won an Osceola County School Board seat last year before she heeded the call to serve in the state Capitol. And the winner, should they choose to run again, would run again for re-election in 2024.
“I had a good meal and moved on,” said Booth of her Thanksgiving holiday.
“There was no decompression,” said Keen. “When Fred decided to abandon his post, I chose to run again. I had developed a good relationship with voters eight months ago.”
Booth garnered about half the Republican vote in her primary over Scotty Moore and Ken Davenport, while Keen got just over a third of the vote in his, enough to top Rishi Bagga — who won the 2022 primary — and Marucci Guzman. So both have their own bases to appeal to try to win this election.
Keen said he’s reaching out to the Democrats who didn’t vote for him in the primary, those who didn’t vote and Republicans who, like him, are veterans, who may give him consideration.
“The platforms of me and my two opponents were pretty well aligned,” he said. “We’re working to engage with them now that there’s a general election.”
He said there’s another group of Republicans he hopes to appeal to for votes — “women who think reproductive rights are important.”
“I want people to consider who’s in charge. It’s really about kitchentable talk, the things that are important,” he said. “We have a really good economy. People are tired of culture wars. Talk to them about what’s really important.”
He went on to emphasize that Florida has some of the nation’s highest insurance premiums.
“I attribute that to a Legislature that’s not specific about helping homeowners,” he said.
He’s also in support of growing the NeoCity nanosensor technology manufacturing facility in Osceola County.
“We want those hightech, well-paying jobs coming in. Tourism encourages a lower-average wage,” he said. “Good jobs can bring that up and support other jobs. I don’t like that we lost 2,000 wellpaying Disney jobs (when the company pulled a plan to bring a business unit from California).”
Booth said she is out knocking on doors, “listening to our residents every day.”
“I’m the person who will fight for holding insurance companies accountable, keeping taxes low and keeping people working,” she said. “Folks are concerned about property taxes, which comes back to affordability of everything.
“This race comes down to this: do you support a (President Joe) Biden economy, one that doesn’t ensure people will keep working, or one of fiscal responsibility?”
With improving transportation and infrastructure also among her priorities, she said she noted the opportunity to work with St. Cloud Republican legislator Paula Stark to procure funding to build the Cross Prairie Parkway extension, to link up with a new Florida’s Turnpike interchange in south St. Cloud, and Sunbridge Parkway for another north-south artery to connect to the growing community east of Narcoossee.
Voters must be registered by Dec. 18 to vote in the Jan. 16 general election for this seat. Mailin ballot requests (got to www.voteosceola.gov for information to get yours) must be received by Jan. 4. Early voting will begin Jan. 6 daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Supervisor of Elections Office (192 and Partin Settlement) and the Narocoossee Community Center (5354 Rambling Road). The 25 Osceola precincts in Osceola County that make up district 35 will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Jan. 16.
