Never mind the Governor’s race, the real ugly politics are happening in HD 74. The primary house race here between two Republicans is shaping up to be one of the most bitter races this year and definitely one to watch. Republicans Julio Gonzalez and Richard DeNapoli are locked into an epic battle that is getting nasty, with negative ads hitting the television waves that mention ‘death panels’, allegations of spying in living room windows, and a constant stream of rhetoric trying to prove who is the better Republican.  The television ads in this race are the most negative to come out so far and may end up being some of the most negative this whole season.  With the financial reports out last week, it was shown that (including candidates money and traceable PAC money), the total for this race has hit the $1.1 million dollar mark. Even though a St. Pete Poll shows that Gonzalez is behind in the numbers, the money keeps pouring in. DeNapoli is a former Republican Party Chair in Broward County who moved to Sarasota specifically to run for this seat.

A race with this much vitriol and money is always about much more than just the two candidates.  $1.1 million is enough to signal that a bigger battle is going on and this.   Last week, Eric Eisnaugle won a special election to replace Representative Steve Precourt, who resigned in the hopes to land a job with Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority.   Eisnaugle was a veteran State Representative who was drawn in with Precourt after redistricting  is now fighting for the leadership position in 2020.  He is being challenged by Chris Sprowls for leadership, who is running against Democratic incumbent Zimmerman in HD 65.

Despite being behind, Gonzalez is a Eisnaugle supporter, which has escalated the money exponentially.   While the number of supporters for each side is uncertain at this point, the fact that both players can rally so much money to their chosen candidates is a sure sign that this will be a leadership battle to watch out for.    Even outside industries are paying attention and dumping money into the race, hoping to gain favor with whoever comes out on top.

Sprowls’ certainty and confidence is bad news for Zimmerman; considering that he is confident enough to begin making power plays in other districts in his bid for leadership, it seems he is fairly certain he can knock off Zimmerman.  Combined with the fact that he is almost out-raising Zimmerman 2 to 1 and the district leans Republican, it is looking more and more likely that the Ds cannot hold onto this seat.   With so many other contentious races, it will be hard to devote scant resources to this race as well, considering the odds of defeat are so high.

Why should everyone be paying attention to this race? Because the Speaker of the House in 2020 will oversee the next redistricting process and there are large differences in the way Sprowls’ and Eisnaugle lead.  There is little hope that the Democrats could hope to take over in that short time frame and learning to work with the leadership early may help the process.  With the Senate maps still in in limbo and the Democrats unable to touch the 10 seats they could be sitting presently, it is vital that the Democrats amass enough power between to at least get a voice in the process.