Rep. Geraldine Thompson wins Florida Senate District 15 universal primary

ORLANDO, Fla. – State Rep. Geraldine Thompson won the universal primary for Florida Senate District 15.

Thompson and Rep. Kamia Brown, two Democratic state lawmakers, were running for Florida Senate against each other, and because no one else was in the running, this primary was open to all voters.

Florida is a closed primary state, which means only members of a political party can vote in a party primary.

[RELATED ELECTION STORIES: Trying to decide what Florida candidate to vote for? These guides may help | VOTER GUIDE: What you need to know for the 2022 Florida Primary]

Thompson and Brown were both running for the redrawn Florida Senate District 15, which consists of northwest Orange County, from the county’s northern border down into Winter Garden, Ocoee and down into the Oakridge area and part of Dr. Phillips area, with the I-4 and Orange Avenue as the eastern border.

However, since no members of another political party, no “no party affiliate” candidates, or even write-in candidates, ran in the district, this election was made open to all voters in Florida State Senate District 15, regardless of political party.

To find out if you are in this district, click HERE.

To see the redrawn district, click HERE.

Here’s what you need to know about the two candidates for Florida Senate District 15.

Kamia Brown

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Kamia Brown is an Orlando native who has been in the Florida House since 2017. She is the House Democratic Pro Tempore. She was also the ranking member of the House health appropriations subcommittee.

Brown’s priorities in the Florida House were expanding health care, the environment and police reform. She helped create a telehealth pilot program to help minority maternity candidates. She also helped expand Medicaid access for postpartum care.

In the Senate, Brown wants to continue to expand Medicaid coverage and access to health care. She wants to increase the minimum wage and promote small business growth.

You can see the bills she sponsored on the Florida House website.

Geraldine Thompson

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Geraldine Thompson is a former Orange County school teacher who helped save the historic Wells’Built Hotel in Parramore and turned it into an African American history museum. She was first elected to the Florida House in 2006, served until 2012, then served in the Florida Senate from 2012 to 2016, when she left the Senate to run for U.S. House against Rep. Val Demings.

Thompson returned to the Florida House in 2018. Now she is running to return to the Florida Senate.

Thompson’s first priority should she return to the Florida Senate is to introduce legislation to strengthen attraction safety standards, following the death of a teenager who fell from the Orlando FreeFall.

She also wants to strengthen the affordable housing fund known as the Sadowski Fund, which has been raided and reduced by the Florida Legislature in the last few years. She wants higher teacher pay and replacing all testing with a different evaluation system. She also supports expanding Medicaid.

You can see the bills she sponsored on the Florida House website.