Race to fill Hawkins’ House seat now includes School Board’s Erika Booth

  • School Board member Erika Booth is now a candidate for the State Legislature. PHOTO/OSCEOLA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
    School Board member Erika Booth is now a candidate for the State Legislature. PHOTO/OSCEOLA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

After winning election to the Osceola County School Board just a year ago, Erika Booth has announced a bid to run for the Florida House of Representatives district 35 seat being vacated by Fred Hawkins.

There is no date yet set for a special election, or if there will be one this year for the term that ends in 2024, but the seat is coming open now that South Florida State College in Avon Park has chosen Hawkins as its new president.

Booth becomes the third Republican to enter the race, joining Demetries Grimes, who had filed last month, and Scotty Moore, who ran against Darren Soto for his U.S. Congressional seat in 2022 and jumped into the race this week. The Democratic side includes Tom Keen and Rishi Bagga, who ran in 2022 (Bagga won the primary) and re-entered in the past weeks.

“I’ve dedicated the last 20 years of my life to educating our children. Most importantly as a parent and also as a classroom teacher,” Booth said in a release to Florida Politics posted Tuesday morning. “As I began my service on the School Board, I have realized the issues facing educators, parents and our students cannot simply be solved locally and so, today, I have decided to run for State Representative."

The release also noted an endorsement by the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee and the House Republican Caucus.

Booth is a former teacher and was Harmony Community School’s Teacher of the Year in 2014. Her husband, Ricky, is a former School Board member and is the current district 5 Osceola County Commissioner.

“Governor DeSantis and this Legislature have made great strides in protecting students, giving greater control to parents and placing Florida at the forefront of innovation when it comes to classroom education — but the job is far from over,” Booth said.

Booth won the School Board district 5 seat last year with 54% percent of the vote over Debbie Mann. It is possible that, if she were to win a special election, then the 2024 regular election and seek re-election, she could run for office four times in five years.