Florida House of Representatives elections, 2016
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| 2016 Florida House Elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Primary | August 30, 2016 |
| General | November 8, 2016 |
| 2016 Election Results | |
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| 2016 Elections | |
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All 120 seats in the Florida House of Representatives were up for election in 2016. Democrats gained three seats after the November 2016 election.
Introduction
Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Florida House of Representatives:
| Florida House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
| Democratic Party | 38 | 41 | |
| Republican Party | 81 | 79 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 120 | 120 | |
Retired incumbents
Forty-four incumbent representatives did not run for re-election in 2016. Click "Show" to view a list of those incumbents.
Races we watched
Ballotpedia identified six notable Florida state legislative races in 2016, one of which was a state House contest.
Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable Florida races »
General election contests
- An open race in a closely divided district attracted a competitive general election field.
- ☑ Daisy Baez ☐ John D. Couriel
List of candidates
General election
| 2016 Florida House candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District |  Democrat
|
 Republican
|
Other |
| 1 | No candidate | Clay Ingram: 55,795 (I)  |
Bill Fetke: 17,192 (No party affiliation) |
| 2 | Ray Guillory: 30,329 | Frank White: 48,117 |
|
| 3 | No candidate | Jayer Williamson |
|
| 4 | No candidate | Mel Ponder |
|
| 5 | No candidate | Brad Drake: 51,832 (I) |
Jamey Westbrook: 24,443 (No party affiliation) |
| 6 | No candidate | Jay Trumbull (I) |
|
| 7 | No candidate | Halsey Beshears (I) |
|
| 8 | Ramon Alexander |
No candidate | |
| 9 | Loranne Ausley: 53,535 |
Jim Messer: 41,816 | |
| 10 | Jerry Lawrence Bullard: 23,893 | Elizabeth Porter: 43,043 (I) |
|
| 11 | No candidate | Cord Byrd |
|
| 12 | No candidate | Clay Yarborough |
|
| 13 | Tracie Davis: 37,517 |
Mark Griffin: 25,318 | |
| 14 | Kimberly Daniels: 47,296 |
Christian Whitfield: 23,545 | |
| 15 | No candidate | Jay Fant (I) |
|
| 16 | No candidate | Jason Fischer |
|
| 17 | No candidate | Cyndi Stevenson (I) |
|
| 18 | No candidate | Travis Cummings: 63,103 (I) |
Kenneth Alvin Willey: 14,056 (L) |
| 19 | Joe Snodgrass: 18,765 | Bobby Payne: 49,561 |
|
| 20 | Clovis Watson, Jr. (I) |
No candidate | |
| 21 | Marihelen Wheeler: 38,814 | Chuck Clemons: 44,945 |
|
| 22 | No candidate | Charlie Stone (I) |
|
| 23 | Rick Perry: 28,373 | Stan McClain: 46,698 |
|
| 24 | Adam Morley: 33,575 | Paul M. Renner: 56,541 (I) |
|
| 25 | Noel Cheryl Bickford: 32,943 | Tom Leek: 54,351 |
|
| 26 | Patrick Henry: 35,930 |
Michael Cantu: 31,991 | |
| 27 | Robert L. Mann: 30,276 | David Santiago: 43,531 (I) |
|
| 28 | No candidate | Jason Brodeur: 48,606 (I) |
Steve Edmonds: 27,392 (No party affiliation) |
| 29 | No candidate | Scott Plakon (I) |
|
| 30 | Ryan Yadav: 34,457 | Bob Cortes: 39,448 (I) |
|
| 31 | No candidate | Jennifer Sullivan: 55,689 (I) |
Robert Rightmyer: 20,380 (No party affiliation) |
| 32 | No candidate | Larry Metz (I) |
|
| 33 | No candidate | Don Hahnfeldt |
|
| 34 | No candidate | Ralph Massullo Jr. |
|
| 35 | Ramon Gutierrez: 30,901 | Blaise Ingoglia: 49,966 (I) |
|
| 36 | Amanda Hickman Murphy: 33,741 (I) | Amber Mariano: 34,432 |
|
| 37 | No candidate | Richard Corcoran (I) |
|
| 38 | No candidate | Daniel Burgess (I) |
|
| 39 | Victor Sims: 28,176 | Neil Combee: 46,407 (I) |
|
| 40 | Shandale Terrell: 27,070 | Colleen Burton: 39,713 (I) |
|
| 41 | Robert Doyel: 34,739 | Sam Killebrew: 38,889 |
|
| 42 | Benny Valentin: 34,527 | Mike La Rosa: 42,696 (I) |
|
| 43 | John Cortes (I) |
No candidate | |
| 44 | No candidate | Eric Eisnaugle (I) |
|
| 45 | Kamia Brown |
No candidate | |
| 46 | Bruce Antone (I) |
No candidate | |
| 47 | Beth Tuura: 40,573 | Mike Miller: 45,639 (I) |
|
| 48 | Amy Mercado: 47,346 |
No candidate | Gus Martinez: 11,958 (No party affiliation) |
| 49 | Carlos Guillermo Smith: 44,658 |
No candidate | Shea Silverman: 19,710 (No party affiliation) |
| 50 | Sean Ashby: 37,960 | Rene Plasencia: 50,962 (I) |
|
| 51 | Mike Blake: 34,361 | Tom Goodson: 50,735 (I) |
|
| 52 | No candidate | Thad Altman |
|
| 53 | David A. Kearns: 35,461 | Randy Fine: 46,768 |
|
| 54 | No candidate | Erin Grall |
|
| 55 | No candidate | Cary Pigman (I) |
|
| 56 | David C. Poulin: 19,837 | Ben Albritton: 36,420 (I) |
|
| 57 | No candidate | Jake Raburn (I) |
|
| 58 | Jose N. Vazquez Figueroa: 26,050 | Dan Raulerson: 36,721 (I) |
|
| 59 | Rena Frazier: 34,859 | Ross Spano: 41,409 (I) |
|
| 60 | David Singer: 37,855 | Jackie Toledo: 50,443 |
|
| 61 | Sean Shaw |
No candidate | |
| 62 | Janet Cruz (I) |
No candidate | |
| 63 | Lisa J. Montelione: 36,192 | Shawn Harrison: 37,555 (I) |
|
| 64 | No candidate | James Grant (I) |
|
| 65 | Bernie Fensterwald: 30,814 | Chris Sprowls: 57,726 (I) |
|
| 66 | Lorena Grizzle: 34,116 | Larry Ahern: 47,764 (I) |
|
| 67 | David S. Vogel: 28,711 | Christopher Latvala: 40,587 (I) |
|
| 68 | Ben Diamond: 42,339 |
Joseph Bensmihen: 33,393 | |
| 69 | Jennifer Webb: 36,791 | Kathleen Peters: 47,882 (I) |
|
| 70 | Wengay M. "Newt" Newton Sr.: 46,118 |
Cori Fournier: 14,327 | |
| 71 | No candidate | Jim Boyd (I) |
|
| 72 | Edward James: 36,449 | Alexandra Miller: 50,468 |
|
| 73 | James T. Golden: 36,678 | Joe Gruters: 68,343 |
|
| 74 | Manny Lopez: 34,646 | Julio Gonzalez: 58,102 (I) |
|
| 75 | No candidate | Michael Grant |
|
| 76 | No candidate | Ray Rodrigues: 58,058 (I) |
Charles C. Messina: 20,711 (No party affiliation) |
| 77 | No candidate | Dane Eagle (I) |
|
| 78 | No candidate | Heather Fitzenhagen (I) |
|
| 79 | John Scott: 24,133 | Matt Caldwell: 32,273 (I) |
Matt Miller: 6,665 (No party affiliation) |
| 80 | No candidate | Byron Donalds |
|
| 81 | Joseph Abruzzo |
No candidate | |
| 82 | Mary W. Higgins: 31,017 | MaryLynn Magar: 52,276 (I) |
|
| 83 | Crystal Lucas: 37,999 | Gayle Harrell: 45,345 (I) |
|
| 84 | Larry Lee, Jr. (I) |
No candidate | |
| 85 | Robert Simeone: 36,675 | Rick Roth: 49,936 |
|
| 86 | Matt Willhite: 42,168 |
Laurel S. Bennett: 31,047 | |
| 87 | David Silvers |
No candidate | |
| 88 | Al Jacquet |
No candidate | |
| 89 | No candidate | Bill Hager (I) |
|
| 90 | Lori Berman: 50,873 (I) |
No candidate | Artie Lurie: 13,088 (L) |
| 91 | Emily Slosberg |
No candidate | |
| 92 | Patricia Hawkins-Williams |
No candidate | |
| 93 | Ken Keechl: 38,743 | George Moraitis: 45,232 (I) |
|
| 94 | Bobby DuBose (I) |
No candidate | |
| 95 | Barrington A. Russell |
No candidate | |
| 96 | Kristin Jacobs (I) |
No candidate | |
| 97 | Jared Moskowitz (I) |
No candidate | |
| 98 | Katie Edwards (I) |
No candidate | |
| 99 | Evan Jenne (I) |
No candidate | |
| 100 | Joseph S. Geller (I) |
No candidate | |
| 101 | Shevrin Jones (I) |
No candidate | |
| 102 | Sharon Pritchett (I) |
No candidate | |
| 103 | Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich: 28,622 | Manny Diaz, Jr.: 31,972 (I) |
|
| 104 | Richard Stark: 46,108 (I) |
Oscar Ganem: 27,751 | |
| 105 | Patricio Moreno: 26,620 | Carlos Trujillo: 29,350 (I) |
|
| 106 | No candidate | Bob Rommel |
|
| 107 | Barbara Watson (I) |
No candidate | |
| 108 | Roy Hardemon |
No candidate | |
| 109 | Cynthia Stafford (I) |
No candidate | |
| 110 | Carlos Puentes Sr.: 20,833 | Jose Oliva: 25,950 (I) |
|
| 111 | Sevi Miyar: 17,058 | Bryan Avila: 24,726 (I) |
|
| 112 | Nick Duran: 31,643 |
Rosa Palomino: 27,702 | |
| 113 | David Richardson: 30,386 (I) |
Jonathan Parker: 16,635 | |
| 114 | Daisy Baez: 34,302 |
John D. Couriel: 32,966 | |
| 115 | Jeffrey Solomon: 31,932 | Michael Bileca: 37,046 (I) |
|
| 116 | Heath Rassner: 24,387 | Jose Felix Diaz: 39,646 (I) |
|
| 117 | Kionne McGhee (I) |
No candidate | |
| 118 | Robert Asencio: 31,412 |
David Rivera: 31,359 | |
| 119 | Jeniffer Pinell: 26,466 | Jeanette Nuñez: 35,068 (I) |
|
| 120 | Dan Horton: 29,108 | Holly Merrill Raschein: 39,080 (I) |
|
| Notes | • An (I) denotes an incumbent. | ||
| • Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project. | |||
Primary election
Write-in candidates
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Margins of victory
The average margin of victory for contested races in the Florida House of Representatives in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 120 races in the Florida House of Representatives in 2016, 65 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 21.2 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[2]
| Democratic candidates in the Florida House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Republican candidates in 2016. Democrats won 41 races. In the 15 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 24.7 percent. Republicans won 79 races in 2016. In the 50 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 20.1 percent. |
| More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. Sixteen of the 65 contested races in 2016—24.6 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Five races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won 12 races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less. |
Florida House of Representatives: 2016 Margins of Victory Less than 10 Percent District Winning Party Margin of Victory District 21 R 7.3 percent District 26 D 5.8 percent District 30 R 6.8 percent District 36 R 1.0 percent District 41 R 5.6 percent District 47 R 5.9 percent District 59 R 8.6 percent District 63 R 1.8 percent District 83 R 8.8 percent District 93 R 7.7 percent District 103 R 5.5 percent District 105 R 4.9 percent District 112 D 6.6 percent District 114 D 2.0 percent District 115 R 7.4 percent District 118 D 0.1 percent
| The average margin of victory for incumbents in the Florida House of Representatives who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was lower than the national average. Seventy-four incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 41 winning Florida House of Representatives incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 21.9 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent. |
| Democratic incumbents in the Florida House of Representatives saw larger margins of victory than Republican incumbents. Nineteen Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the three races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 37.7 percent. Fifty-five Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 38 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 20.6 percent. |
Florida House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis Party Elections won Average margin of victory[3] Races with incumbent victories Average margin of victory for incumbents[3] Unopposed incumbents Unopposed races Percent unopposed Democratic 41 24.7 percent 19 37.7 percent 16 26 63.4 percent Republican 79 20.1 percent 55 20.6 percent 17 29 36.7 percent Total 120 21.2 percent 74 21.9 percent 33 55 45.8 percent
Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Florida House of Representatives districts in 2016.
| Florida House of Representatives: 2016 Margin of Victory by District | ||
|---|---|---|
| District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory |
| District 1 | R | 52.9 percent |
| District 2 | R | 22.7 percent |
| District 3 | R | Unopposed |
| District 4 | R | Unopposed |
| District 5 | R | 35.9 percent |
| District 6 | R | Unopposed |
| District 7 | R | Unopposed |
| District 8 | D | Unopposed |
| District 9 | D | 12.3 percent |
| District 10 | R | 28.6 percent |
| District 11 | R | Unopposed |
| District 12 | R | Unopposed |
| District 13 | D | 19.4 percent |
| District 14 | D | 33.5 percent |
| District 15 | R | Unopposed |
| District 16 | R | Unopposed |
| District 17 | R | Unopposed |
| District 18 | R | 63.6 percent |
| District 19 | R | 45.1 percent |
| District 20 | D | Unopposed |
| District 21 | R | 7.3 percent |
| District 22 | R | Unopposed |
| District 23 | R | 24.4 percent |
| District 24 | R | 25.5 percent |
| District 25 | R | 24.5 percent |
| District 26 | D | 5.8 percent |
| District 27 | R | 18.0 percent |
| District 28 | R | 27.9 percent |
| District 29 | R | Unopposed |
| District 30 | R | 6.8 percent |
| District 31 | R | 46.4 percent |
| District 32 | R | Unopposed |
| District 33 | R | Unopposed |
| District 34 | R | Unopposed |
| District 35 | R | 23.6 percent |
| District 36 | R | 1.0 percent |
| District 37 | R | Unopposed |
| District 38 | R | Unopposed |
| District 39 | R | 24.4 percent |
| District 40 | R | 18.9 percent |
| District 41 | R | 5.6 percent |
| District 42 | R | 10.6 percent |
| District 43 | D | Unopposed |
| District 44 | R | Unopposed |
| District 45 | D | Unopposed |
| District 46 | D | Unopposed |
| District 47 | R | 5.9 percent |
| District 48 | D | 59.7 percent |
| District 49 | D | 38.8 percent |
| District 50 | R | 14.6 percent |
| District 51 | R | 19.2 percent |
| District 52 | R | Unopposed |
| District 53 | R | 13.8 percent |
| District 54 | R | Unopposed |
| District 55 | R | Unopposed |
| District 56 | R | 29.5 percent |
| District 57 | R | Unopposed |
| District 58 | R | 17.0 percent |
| District 59 | R | 8.6 percent |
| District 60 | R | 14.3 percent |
| District 61 | D | Unopposed |
| District 62 | D | Unopposed |
| District 63 | R | 1.9 percent |
| District 64 | R | Unopposed |
| District 65 | R | 30.4 percent |
| District 66 | R | 16.7 percent |
| District 67 | R | 17.1 percent |
| District 68 | D | 11.8 percent |
| District 69 | R | 13.1 percent |
| District 70 | D | 52.6 percent |
| District 71 | R | Unopposed |
| District 72 | R | 16.1 percent |
| District 73 | R | 30.2 percent |
| District 74 | R | 25.3 percent |
| District 75 | R | Unopposed |
| District 76 | R | 47.4 percent |
| District 77 | R | Unopposed |
| District 78 | R | Unopposed |
| District 79 | R | 12.9 percent |
| District 80 | R | Unopposed |
| District 81 | D | Unopposed |
| District 82 | R | 25.5 percent |
| District 83 | R | 8.8 percent |
| District 84 | D | Unopposed |
| District 85 | R | 15.3 percent |
| District 86 | D | 15.2 percent |
| District 87 | D | Unopposed |
| District 88 | D | Unopposed |
| District 89 | R | Unopposed |
| District 90 | D | 59.1 percent |
| District 91 | D | Unopposed |
| District 92 | D | Unopposed |
| District 93 | R | 7.7 percent |
| District 94 | D | Unopposed |
| District 95 | D | Unopposed |
| District 96 | D | Unopposed |
| District 97 | D | Unopposed |
| District 98 | D | Unopposed |
| District 99 | D | Unopposed |
| District 100 | D | Unopposed |
| District 101 | D | Unopposed |
| District 102 | D | Unopposed |
| District 103 | R | 5.5 percent |
| District 104 | D | 24.9 percent |
| District 105 | R | 4.9 percent |
| District 106 | R | Unopposed |
| District 107 | D | Unopposed |
| District 108 | D | Unopposed |
| District 109 | D | Unopposed |
| District 110 | R | 10.9 percent |
| District 111 | R | 18.4 percent |
| District 112 | D | 6.6 percent |
| District 113 | D | 29.2 percent |
| District 114 | D | 2.0 percent |
| District 115 | R | 7.4 percent |
| District 116 | R | 23.8 percent |
| District 117 | D | Unopposed |
| District 118 | D | 0.1 percent |
| District 119 | R | 14.0 percent |
| District 120 | R | 14.6 percent |
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Florida elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Florida in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| February 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| March 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| March 15, 2016 | Election date | Presidential primary election | |
| April 4, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections | |
| April 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| May 2, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates begins | |
| May 6, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates ends | |
| May 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| May 23, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections | |
| June 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| June 20, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates begins | |
| June 24, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates ends | |
| July 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| July 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| July 29, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 4, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| August 5, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 12, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 19, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 26, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 30, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| September 9, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| September 22, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| September 23, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 7, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 14, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 21, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| November 4, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| November 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| February 6, 2017 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| Sources: Florida Division of Elections, "2015-2017 Election Dates Calendar," June 4, 2015 Florida Division of Elections, "Calendar of Reporting Dates for 2016 Candidates Registered with the Division of Elections," accessed January 11, 2016 | |||
Competitiveness
Candidates unopposed by a major party
In 63 (52.5%) of the 120 seats that were up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 29 Democrats and 34 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.
Two major party candidates faced each other in the general election in 57 (47.5%) of the 120 seats up for election.
Primary challenges
Eleven incumbents faced primary competition on August 30. Forty-four seats were open, leaving 65 incumbents that were set to advance past the primary without opposition.
Retired incumbents
Forty-four incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 76 ran for re-election. A list of those retiring incumbents, 26 Republicans and 18 Democrats, can be found above.
Impact of term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Florida House of Representatives has been a term-limited state house since Florida voters approved Amendment 9 in 1992. Amendment 9 altered Article VI, section 4 of the Florida Constitution to impose a maximum of four two-year terms on Florida State Representatives.
There are 120 members of the Florida House of Representatives. In 2016, 21 of them who were current members, eight Democrats and 13 Republicans, were ineligible to run again in November.
The state representatives who are term-limited in 2016 were:
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Results from 2014
There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.
Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.
| Overall Competitiveness | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | |
| Competitiveness Index | 36.2 | 35.8 | 31.4 |
| % Open Seats | 18.6% | 21.2% | 17.0% |
| % Incumbent with primary challenge | 22.7% | 24.6% | 20.1% |
| % Candidates with major party opposition | 67.3% | 61.7% | 57.0% |
The following table details Florida's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.
| Florida Legislature 2014 Competitiveness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Open Seats | % Incumbent with primary challenge | % Candidates with major party opposition | Competitiveness Index | Overall rank |
| 12.1% | 17.9% | 40.0% | 23.3 | 36 |
Historical context
Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.
Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.
Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.
Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.
Campaign contributions
The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State House in Florida in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State House races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[4]
| Florida House of Representatives Donations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates | Amount |
| 2014 | 261 | $29,563,275 |
| 2012 | 299 | $29,962,374 |
| 2010 | 322 | $30,468,701 |
| 2008 | 293 | $30,165,866 |
| 2006 | 267 | $27,210,564 |
State comparison
The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Florida, at $113,269 per candidate, is ranked five of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[4][5]
Qualifications
To run for the Florida House of Representatives, candidates must be 21 years old, have lived in Florida for two years and live in the district they intend to serve.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Under Ballotpedia's competitiveness criteria, districts that have a margin of victory of less than 5 percent are considered highly competitive. Districts that have a margin of victory from 5 to 10 percent are considered mildly competitive.
- ↑ This calculation excludes chambers that had elections where two or more members were elected in a race. These chambers are the Arizona House, the New Hampshire House, the North Dakota House, the South Dakota House, the Vermont House, the Vermont Senate, and the West Virginia House.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Excludes unopposed elections
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 followthemoney.org, "Contributions to candidates and committees in elections in Florida," accessed July 28, 2015
- ↑ This map relies on data collected in July 2015.
