Republicans easily won a trio of Northeast Florida legislative seats Tuesday during special elections triggered by the resignation last year of former Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, to become president of Florida State University.
Given the GOP’s dominance in the region and the significant fundraising edge of the Republican candidates, the results were expected.
With most precincts reporting in the race for Thrasher’s former Senate District 6 seat, Rep. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, was carrying about 69.7 percent of the vote to 30.3 percent for Daytona Beach Democrat David Cox. Hutson had earlier defeated Rep. Ronald “Doc” Renuart of Ponte Vedra Beach in a GOP primary.
The Senate Republican leadership quickly issued a statement welcoming Hutson to the chamber, where the GOP holds a 26-14 advantage.
“I know he plans to hit the ground running and am confident he will utilize the experience gained from his service in the Florida House as well as his perspective as a businessman raising a young family to maximize his contributions to the Senate during these final weeks of session,” said Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.
Hutson’s new district includes St. Johns, Putnam and Flagler counties and the northeast corner of Volusia.
The decision by Hutson and Renuart to seek Thrasher’s seat — which required them to resign from the House — also sparked elections in their districts.
In Hutson’s House District 24, Palm Coast Republican Paul Renner was carrying almost 67 percent of the vote to about 33 percent for St. Augustine Democrat Adam Morley. Renner ran unsuccessfully for a different Northeast Florida seat in last year’s elections. District 24 includes Flagler County and parts of St. Johns and Volusia counties.
And in House District 17, which includes the northern half of St. Johns County, Republican Cyndi Stevenson easily carried Renuart’s old seat against no-party candidate Judy Stevens and write-in Mary Anne Boczek. Stevenson had about 77.8 percent of the vote to about 22.2 percent for Stevens. No vote had been reported for Boczek.
The two wins allow the House GOP to retain its 80-39 majority, pending another special election in House District 64 scheduled for April 21.