Open seat in tossup district draws statewide attention to Central Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It has been more than a quarter century since Florida Democrats controlled the Florida Senate. Now, the party is trying to pull even in the 40-member chamber by flipping central Florida’s Senate District 9.

The race features Republican Jason Brodeur versus Democrat Patricia Sigman in a race to replace David Simmons who is unable to run due to term limits.

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Senate District 9 covers all of Seminole County and a southwest section of Volusia County. While the seat has been held in Republican hands since it was re-drawn in 2016, the district is considered a toss-up with Republicans and Democrats evenly split.

“This is going to be the most exciting seat we have in Central Florida this election cycle,” says former Florida House member Bobby Olszewski. “Democrats see blood in the water with this being an open seat and Democrats are throwing everything they have at this seat.”

But it’s not just Democrats pushing hard. Republicans are also spending big in the race. Since 2017, the Brodeur campaign has raised $1.2 million from donors across the state and across the country, while the Sigman campaign, which didn’t start raising money until 2020, has brought in $572K from an equally wide swath of donors.

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For Democrats, who currently hold just 17-seats in the Florida Senate, SD9 represents one of three districts the party is hoping to flip in 2020 ahead of congressional redistricting.

“With everything we are facing: the economy and COVID and a limited budget, add on top of that reapportionment and redistricting and it matters who is calling the shots up in Tallahassee,” says Olszewski.

Cox Media Group