Susan Plasencia Unseats Carlos Guillermo Smith in Florida State House District 37 Race

OVIEDO (FLV) – Republican Candidate Susan Plasencia unseated Incumbent Democratic Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith in the House District 37 race in Florida in the 2022 Midterm Election.

Smith has been a member of the Florida House since 2016.

Plasencia released a statement following the victory saying, “I’m honored to be elected as State Rep for Florida’s 37th District. We are all Americans, we are all Floridans. Now we begin the process of #WorkingTogether as we move Florida forward!”

Smith responded to the results saying, “Unfortunately, we didn’t win re-election after a tough race in a brutal political environment, where the DeSantis machine spent nearly $1.5 MILLION to buy this seat and tighten their grip on Tallahassee.”

“I know you are disappointed, but make no mistake— I am not going anywhere.”

District 37 is a newly drawn district in the area west of Titusville, including parts of Oviedo.

Smith was assigned to the following committees in 2021-2022: Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee, State Affairs Committee.

Smith identified the following three key messages of his campaign according to Ballotpedia:

• Gun Reform is needed so families can feel safe and to lessen gun violence in Florida.
• We must protect Abortion Healthcare Access and reproductive rights.
• We must support teachers and public school administration/staff. Paying them living wages.

Previously, Florida’s Voice reported private investigators leaked photos trying to claim Plasencia doesn’t live in the district she’s running for, which was incorrect.

Smith also recently made headlines after failing to say if he believes an image of a girl attending a revealing drag show would be labeled as “appropriate,” to which Smith responded, “my opinion is irrelevant.”

According to her website, Plasencia is a business owner, employer, and mom of three children. She is also the daughter of Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban immigrant father who fled Communism after fighting against Castro.

Plasencia says she has been active in the community helping others and in 2007, was awarded Orange County D-3 Citizen of the Year.

“When it looked like the current radical woke progressive incumbent would go unchallenged, I agreed to step up,” she told Ballotpedia.

Plasencia lists the following key messages of her campaign: Providing Resource Officers in schools, supporting parent’s rights in education, school choice, lowering the cost of housing, reducing the high gas prices by either supporting a suspension or tax holiday from the state gas tax.