Thanks to reapportionment, the race in HD-41, a reconfigured district has attracted many candidates, including sitting House member Travaris McCurdy and former Rep. Bruce Antone, who has already served 12 years in the House in two different stints.

McCurdy is the kind of modern, activist and progressive Democrat, that is now thankfully emerging as a force to be reckoned with in Florida politics. The Orlando area with the likes of Congressional candidate Maxwell Frost, State Reps Anna Eskamani and Carlo G. Smith is the epicenter of this movement, and we believe McCurdy is an important force in this regard.

With youthful vigor and a passion for social justice, Rep. McCurdy has managed to make his voice heard on the floor of the Florida House at a time when the GOP’s majority has made it impossible for nearly two generations of Democratic lawmakers to gain traction. He is a principled lawmaker in the manner of Florida’s historic golden age of old, who fearlessly advocates for those abandoned in Ron DeSantis’ Sunshine State.

A defender of women’s reproductive rights, McCurdy used his re-election campaign to mobilize voters in Florida’s Orlando area to action following the US Supreme Court’s ruling on Briggs v Mississippi, this summer. He is a gifted organizer having been active prior to his election and skilled legislator who is already attracting statewide attention for his courageous stands on gun violence. McCurdy has carved out a lane, where is among the strongest voices on social justice in the legislature.

As one of several progressive voices in the State House from the Orlando area, McCurdy’s renomination is vital to continuing to given dissenting views a voice in a State House that’s increasingly uniform, as moderate GOPers which served as a check on the leadership’s excesses in the past, are almost totally extinct now. When you factor in an authoritarian Governor, who does not tolerate dissent, voices like that of McCurdy’s are critical, and the sort of conformist Democrat, Antone was in his previous time in office are more problematic now, than ever. Antone’s voting record wasn’t that problematic, but his general attitude and willingness to stand tall on issues of most importance pales in comparison to that of McCurdy.

We strongly endorse his renomination.