ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Democrats scored a win Tuesday night in Central Florida by flipping a Republican seat in the State House.
Lake Nona businessman and veteran Tom Keen beat Osceola County School Board member Erika Booth to take the Florida House District 35 seat, encompassing part of east Orange and Osceola counties.
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“This victory is not just about our campaign, but about the voices of our community that demanded to be heard and represented. I’m ready to get to work toward a brighter and more equitable future for every resident of our district,” Keen said in a news release Tuesday night.
A huge THANK YOU to all our supporters, volunteers, and voters who believed in our vision for a better, brighter District 35. Your dedication, hard work, and votes have brought us to this incredible moment.#WeWon #ElectionVictory #TomKeenForFL #District35 #ThankYou pic.twitter.com/1m3rqBDbjS
— Tom Keen for Florida House (@KeenForFL) January 17, 2024
Keen won 51% of the vote to Booth’s 49%, according to vote totals from the Orange and Osceola supervisors of elections. The difference was a margin of 590 votes.
The two were running to replace Fred Hawkins, the Republican state representative for House District 35, who left his seat earlier last year to become president of South Florida State College.
For the Florida Democratic Party, the election is a big victory. The party all but collapsed in the 2022 election, and has been trying to rebuild in the face of flagging voter registration numbers. Democrats from across the state turned out to campaign for Keen. The party is trying to gain momentum to hold onto electoral seats in 2024.
Keen will join a Florida Legislative session that is already in progress, and give Democrats another voice in a chamber where Republicans have a supermajority.
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