Priority Slate: Break Republican Supermajorities in Tallahassee: Flip 5 House Seats, Pick Up One Senate Seat

What's at Stake?

Breaking the Republican supermajorities in the Florida House and Senate would greatly increase our ability to beat back Tallahassee's anti-LGBTQ extremism. This year, if we flip 5 House seats, we will break the supermajority. In the Florida Senate, there is a critical pickup seat that would set the stage for breaking the Senate's supermajority in 2026. The 7 races below are all for seats that Republicans won by slim margins in the last election, giving Democrats an excellent opportunity to win them back in a Presidential election year. As a bonus, if we elect Nate Douglas and Joe Saunders, we will also have tripled the number of LGBTQ legislators in Tallahassee from 2 to 6 this year!

Nate Douglas - LGBTQ Candidate 

Florida House District 37 (Orange and Seminole County)

Nate Douglas is a policy researcher, environmental advocate, and rising star in Florida politics who would also be the first Gen. Z Democrat in the House. First elected to public office in 2020 as a soil and water conservation district supervisor, Nate has fought to protect our land and vital waterways. Now he is running for the seat formerly represented by former LGBTQ lawmakers Representative Carlos G. Smith and Representative Joe Saunders, a seat that represents the UCF community and one of Florida's youngest electorates. 

Joe Saunders - LGBTQ Candidate 

Florida House District 106 (Miami-Dade County)

Joe Saunders made history in 2012 when he become one of the first LGBTQ state legislators ever elected in Florida. Joe has held senior roles in the fight for marriage equality and led efforts to pass laws that now protect millions of Floridians from discrimination. Joe is running to return to Tallahassee representing Miami Beach, a district that is home to one of Florida's largest LGBTQ constituencies. In 2022, his opponent won this historically Democratic district by less than 300 votes. 

Sarah Henry

Florida House District 38 (Seminole County)

Sarah Henry is an accomplished nonprofit leader with deep roots in the Seminole County community. She holds a master's degree in nonprofit management from American University and is running to flip a seat that President Biden won with 53% of the vote in 2020. 

Leonard Spencer

Florida House District 45 (Orange and Osceola County) 

Leonard Spencer is an accomplished business leader and former senior executive with the Walt Disney Company. He is running against embattled Representative Carolina Amnesty who recently surrendered to law enforcement after a corruption-related indictment. HD 45, located in southwest Orange County, includes Walt Disney World and surrounding areas and supported President Biden with 56% in 2020. 

Maria Revelles

Florida House District 47 (Osceola County) 

Maria Revelles is a nonprofit affordable housing advocate and union leader and organizer with deep roots in Osceola's Puerto Rican and Hispanic communities. She's running to flip a seat that President Biden won with 56% of the vote in 2020.

 

Jay Shooster

Florida House District 91 (Palm Beach County)

Jay Shooster is a consumer rights attorney, a former adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School, and a current policy fellow at the Center for the Future Mind at FAU, where he leads policy research on artificial intelligence. Jay is running to flip back an historically democratic seat in the Florida House that President Biden won by 52% in 2020.

Daryl Parks 

State Senate District 3

Daryl Parks is a civil rights lawyer who has spent his life bringing justice to families and holding corporations accountable. He is running against the most vulnerable Republican State Senator this cycle in the State Senate district that covers Tallahassee and the Florida Capitol. If we can flip this seat, Democrats will be within 1 vote of breaking the Republican supermajority in Tallahassee in 2026. 

Equality Florida Action PAC

Equality Florida Action PAC is the largest organization in Florida devoted to electing pro-equality candidates. We raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for our endorsed candidates and mobilize thousands of volunteers to make calls and canvass door-to-door to elect our champions.

Paid political advertisement sponsored and paid for in-kind by Equality Florida Action PAC, P.O. Box 13184, St. Petersburg, FL 33733. Approved by Nate Douglas, Democrat for Florida House District 37; Joe Saunders, Democrat for Florida House District 106; Sarah Henry, Democrat for Florida House District 38; Leonard Spencer, Democrat for Florida House District 45; Maria Revelles, Democrat for Florida House District 47; Jay Shooster, Democrat for Florida House District 91; Daryl Parks, Democrat for State Senate District 3.