Republicans are launching longshot bids to flip three solid blue Florida House districts in Orange County from Democratic control, a prospect made even more difficult by the political headwinds the party is facing nationwide.
The GOP is targeting the seats being vacated by prominent outgoing Democratic state Reps. Anna Eskamani and Johanna López, as well as the seat won in a special election last year by freshman Democratic state Rep. RaShon Young.
In all three districts, Democrats have more registered voters, won by comfortable margins in the most recent election and have outraised their Republican opponents — including two candidates that previously ran and lost in those districts — who already must contend with a toxic national environment for their party.
In House District 42, Democrat Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, a prominent immigrant rights activist, is hoping to succeed the term-limited Eskamani, a major progressive voice in the Legislature now running for Orlando mayor. He is facing Republican Bonnie Jackson, a Winter Park attorney who lost to Eskamani in 2022.
The district includes downtown Orlando and some of the city’s eastern and northern neighborhoods, as well as Winter Park, Maitland, Belle Isle, Edgewood and Conway. Eskamani defeated Republican Gregory Pull there in 2024 with about 59% of the vote.
Sousa-Lazaballet says Eskamani personally asked him to run for the seat. His priority issues if elected included addressing affordability by expanding access to affordable housing, instituting renter protection and investing in community colleges, trade schools and public high schools.
He said he is focused on making voters’ lives better while Jackson is more focused on cultural issues.
“This is the kind of culture wars that have destroyed our state and it must end. It’s actually part of her long record as a person who has advocated to ban pride flags, against abortion, for book banning, to name a few,” Sousa-Lazaballet said. “I am focused on making your life better.”
Jackson, whom Eskamani beat in 2022 with about 57% of the vote, says she is very concerned about artificial intelligence and would like to see more guardrails put on the technology. She also will focus on property tax relief for homestead owners should Amendment 3 not pass.
She said Sousa-Lazaballet, who is LGBTQ, was the one focusing on culture war issues.
“I don’t care about his sexuality. What I care about is his ideology, and he is very much part of the LGBTQ+ ideology, which has become like a religion,” she said. She accused him of backing “transing the kids” and “mutilating surgeries.”
Jackson also said Sousa-Lazaballet was handpicked by Eskamani because he will do what she tells him to do. In contrast, she called herself an “independent thinker.”
Sousa-Lazaballet has raised $246,000 and spent nearly $215,000. Jackson has raised nearly $53,000, loaned herself $25,000 and spent about $63,000, according to their latest campaign finance reports.
In House District 43, Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the chair of the Orange County Democratic Party, is hoping to succeed López, who is running for a seat on the Orange County Commission. He is facing political newcomer Jorge Malavet, a former immigration officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The district covers parts of east Orlando. López defeated Republican Joe Melendez there in 2024 with 57% of the vote.
Vilchez Santiago, who was endorsed by López, his former high school teacher, says his main priority if elected will be lowering the cost of food, housing and healthcare. He also wants to tackle Florida’s property insurance crisis and the expand Medicaid to uninsured Floridians.
He said Malavet will be just a “rubber stamp” in the Legislature that won’t support middle-class families.
Malavet, who was a retired U.S. Navy officer before joining Homeland Security, says he would focus on investing in education, making goods more affordable for residents and taking better care of veterans and seniors. He said voters should support him because of his lifetime and service and experience.
“I bring to the table is a life of service and experience, both personal and professional, and I can relate to the people in my community,” he said. “I’ve been around for many years, 30 years of Floridian, 15 here in this community. So I definitely understand what our people need.”
Vilchez Santiago, though, also accused Malavet of living outside of the district. He said voter records obtained by his campaign show Malavet lives at a Seminole County home with an Apopka address within House District 39.
“I am also the only person in this race who lives in District 43, who has lived in this District 43 for the last 15 years and who has gone to our schools, goes to our parks, our hospitals, you name it,” Vilchez Santiago said.
Under Florida law, a House candidate must live and be registered to vote in the district where they are running on election day and must maintain a residence there for the entire term if they are elected. Lawmakers can own multiple homes, but House rules say they consider a lawmaker’s legal residence to be the one listed on official documents, including homestead exemption paperwork.
Malavet says he used to live at the home in District 39 but now lives in District 43. He did not specify where, however, citing public records exemptions in Florida due to his federal service.
The Seminole County Property Appraiser’s Office confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that a Jorge Malavet does own the home with the Apopka address, which has a homestead exemption through the end of 2026, but that he recently requested to have that exemption removed from the home in a form signed Sept. 11.
Malavet provided a copy of his voter registration card to the Orlando Sentinel, which says he is registered to vote in District 43, although his home address was redacted.
Vilchez Santiago has raised $202,000 and spent $187,000. Malavet has raised $71,000 and spent nearly $63,000, the latest campaign finance records show.
In House District 40, freshman Democratic State Rep. RaShon Young is hoping to be elected to his first full term in office after winning a special election to the seat in September 2025. He is facing a rematch with Republican Tuan Le, an Apopka businessman he defeated with 75% of the vote in the special election.
The district covers parts of west Orlando and Pine Hills. The seat was previously represented by now-Democratic state Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, who endorsed Young, her former chief of staff, as her successor.
Le said Oct. 15 he was raised in Pine Hills, currently lives in Apopka and plans to move into District 40 by election day. He says his priority issues are supporting small businesses, expanding educational opportunities to spur job growth and improving public safety.
He argued voters should choose him because he has greater experience than Young.
“He doesn’t have the long life of knowledge of what is good for the people,” Le said. “For me, I had bad experience, good experience. I’ve been wealthy, I’ve been poor. I’ve been successful, I’ve been homeless, you name it. So with all that experience, I understand very well what I have to do.”
Young said he has secured $1 million for nonprofits in the district during his time in the Legislature and that if he is reelected, he will also focus on investing funds in public education and expanding access to Medicaid.
He criticized Le for living outside of the district.
“We need somebody who genuinely cares about House District 40, lives in House District 40, has stock in House District 40, irrespective of 20, 30 years ago,” Young said. “Someone who is on the ground today and ready to be able to provide relief and results for people.”
Young has raised $47,000 and spent $15,000, according to campaign finance records. Le has not filed any campaign finance reports as of Oct. 28, records show.
Le said earlier this month he hadn’t filed the reports because he didn’t have time and was dealing with health problems, although he planned to file them in the future. He said he was self-funding his campaign.
The election is on Nov. 3. Early voting continues through Sunday.