Gotha Democrat Leonard Spencer has a very slim margin against the accused Agent. Carolina Amesty in House District 45.

With all precincts in Orange and Osceola counties reporting, Spencer leads with 45,227 votes to Amesty’s 45,010 votes. The 217-vote difference represents about 0.24% of the 90,237 votes cast. A difference of less than half a percentage point triggers an automated machine recount, and if the results are less than a quarter of a percent, a manual recount follows.

One important caveat: Orange County reported more than 38,000 mail ballots had been cast as of 10:45 p.m., and it was not immediately clear how many of those affected the HD 45 race.

But the narrow margin leaves the fate of the district uncertain, which Democrats hope to flip.

More than 52% of House 45 voters support Democrat Joe Biden In the 2020 Presidential Election, political observers always predicted that Amesty would have a tough re-election campaign. This was before the grand jury accused The Republican was convicted of four felonies, all related to his father’s previous job as an administrator at Central Christian University.

Amesty asked voters to put this situation aside and focus on their own work. fighting sex trafficking by raising age requirements to work at strip clubs and by providing money for law enforcement and water quality in the area.

“We are a very important district, and I will run very strongly in Tallahassee for this very, very important seat,” he said. “We want to make sure we have common-sense legislation.”

Amesty never addressed the details of the forgery charges against him but maintained his innocence and did not admit guilt in court. Pre-trial conference planned For November 18th.

Spencer argued that Amesty’s legal uncertainty presented an unacceptable situation for HD 45 voters.

“It is unfortunate that we have a Representative who has been charged and arrested on four felonies,” the Gotha Democrat said. “What people want is someone who is honest and can work on their behalf.”

It marked a marked change in fortunes for Amesty, who won a competitive Primary Election and closely watched General Election two years ago. Won seat against Democrats Allie Braswell 6 percentage points in 2022.

He won the seat due to Republicans’ overperformance statewide. Ron DeSantis secured re-election the same year landslide 19 percent points. And that’s especially so even as DeSantis has waged a political war with Disney, the region’s largest employer. This included eliminating the self-governing capabilities the company has had on its Florida property since Walt Disney World first opened in Florida.

Battles with Disney continued throughout Amesty’s tenure, and Disney sided with DeSantis as he signed new legislation affecting the company. Last year, DeSantis stood by the Republican governor as he joked on stage in the district. open a state prison at the vacation property.

Spencer in particular boasted of a very different connection to the company. She spent nearly 16 years working for Disney, most recently leading diversity and sustainability efforts. Spencer then consulted with other Fortune 500 companies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues.

Republicans have particularly cracked down on DEI practices at public and private institutions and some of the single attack ads funded by the Florida House of Representatives Republican Campaign Committee. I dragged Spencer for his work on the subject, even while censoring any mention of his past at Disney.

Spencer said he viewed this as part of DeSantis’ extended revenge campaign against the Disney company. “This is an example of the vindictive nature of what they’ve tried to do and continue to do compared to Walt Disney Co. and try to stifle free speech,” he said.

Amesty said the state should treat every company equally and that the change in management at the property is good for HD 45 voters. He also emphasized that he has nothing against the company personally.

“There are a lot of people in our area who either work at Disney or visit Disney,” he said. “I am one of them. I love going to Disney Springs, enjoying dinner, and shopping. It is a very important company in our district. “But we also want to make sure there’s a balanced perspective when it comes to every company in our state.”

It is noteworthy that Amesty maintained its superiority in dollar terms throughout the last reporting period. raised and spent Compared to Spencer. But Spencer has seen much more than direct spending on his behalf by the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee and the state party. The Orange County Democratic Executive Committee spent a large amount of money on attacks not only on Amesty but also on other Republican politicians, such as the County Commission candidate. Austin ArthurHe had taken a photo with the MP before he was arrested.

The race demonstrated the importance of Central Florida to both parties; Orange and Osceola were Democratic-leaning communities where Republicans were making local inroads.

As of August 20, there were 41,771 Republican voters, 36,873 Democratic voters, and 40,250 no-party and third-party voters in HD 45. Republicans have aggressively sought to build that advantage this year, adding more than 2,000 electors to their voter rolls while Democrats added just under 1,600. L2 data.

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