Democrat Tom Keen wins House District 35 over Erika Booth

By Amber Jo Cooper

Published Jan. 16, 2024, 7:22 p.m. ET | Updated Jan. 16, 2024

Florida State House District 35 candidates Tom Keen and Erika Booth. (Photos/Keen campaign; Booth campaign)

Eric Daugherty contributed to this report.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Tom Keen, a Democrat, won Tuesday night’s special election for the Central Florida State House District 35 seat, defeating Republican Erika Booth, per unofficial election results.

Keen’s victory represents a flip for the Democrats.

Per unofficial results, Keen finished with around 51.3% of the vote, or over 11,375 votes. Booth totaled 48.7%, a little more than 10,780 votes.

Per DecisionDesk, Hawkins won the district by over 10% in 2022 when Gov. Ron DeSantis helped carry a landslide victory for Republicans statewide, but President Joe Biden won the district by around 5% in 2020.

The seat became vacant after Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, resigned to become president of South Florida State College.

District 35 encompasses the Harmony area and the area east of Kissimmee.

Members of the House will serve two-year terms with term limits. They may not service more than four consecutive terms.

Keen was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, Sen. Victor Torres, D-Kissimmee, Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, and more.

Keen is a 21-year military veteran, a former Naval Flight Officer, and businessman in the high-tech aerospace training and simulation industry, according to his website.

His top issues are listed as “affordable housing, protecting reproductive freedoms, defending free speech, protecting neighborhoods, and defending Florida’s environment.”

Some of Booth’s endorsements include Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami, Americans for Prosperity Action, and the Associated Industries of Florida.

Booth is a Osceola County school board member and a two-time “Teacher of the Year” who has spent the majority of her professional career in the classroom as an educator. She has also spent several years working as a project manager for the Youth Leadership Osceola and Project OPEN programs, serving at-risk youth and adults in the Central Florida community.

Booth’s priorities are listed as “fight Joe Biden’s woke agenda, protect our children from indoctrination, uphold the rule of law and end illegal immigration, defend our constitutional rights, prioritize election integrity.”