Florida Democrats got a surprise bit of good news on Friday: they’re running unopposed in a heavily Hispanic, Orlando-area state House district currently held by the GOP — because the incumbent Republican failed to file her paperwork properly.
According to Gabrielle Russon of Florida Politics, “Rep. Paula Stark failed to qualify for re-election in House District 47, so Democrats will win back a blue seat they have long sought out.”
Stark, a two-term Republican elected in the 2022 GOP wave election and one of the very few Republicans in the legislature to oppose a ban on government-funded diversity parades, did not file her campaign finance disclosure in time for the deadline, meaning that her candidacy was ruled ineligible.
With Stark disqualified from the ballot, the only candidates running for HD47 are a pair of Democrats: Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida President Jorge Figueroa, and state investigator Anthony Nieves.
It’s the latest coup for Florida Democrats as they struggle to regain their footing after years of devastating losses.
In recent months, Democrats have also won back control of the mayoralties of Miami and Boca Raton, as well as the state legislative district that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
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