Democrat Anthony Yantz of Palm Bay to again run for Florida House District 33
For the second time, Democrat Anthony Yantz will try to win Florida House Seat 33 after filing to run in the 2024 election. He becomes the first Democrat to file in the open race for the spot being vacated by Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), a brash conservative known for his incendiary style with the media, political adversaries and even other Republicans. Fine, who will have served eight years in the state congress and cannot run for re-election, has already announced his intention to run for the Florida Senate District 19 seat. Republicans Logan Luse and Chandler Langevin have filed for the District 33 race, meaning a primary election will be held to see which of the two faces off against Yantz if the field remains unchanged through next summer.
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Yantz, who resides in Palm Bay, previously ran for the seat against Fine just last year when the Republican won election with a decisive 10-point victory at the polls. Yantz said he feels he “absolutely” has a better shot at winning this cycle without the hurdle of an incumbent to clear.
"One of the things I know people are tired of are the extremists on both sides. Although I am running as a Democrat, I do have Republicans on my committee and I do that to get their input and perspective," Yantz said.
"I’m running on education, our environment and common sense government," he added. “These are not partisan issues. These issues affect all of us. We won’t have as big a battle as before.”
The newly redrawn District 33 (formerly District 53) includes Malabar, West Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, parts of Melbourne and most of Palm Bay.
It is among the most politically balanced House and Senate districts in Brevard, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats in voter registration, 36.37% to 32.25%. The other 31.38% are either members of no political party or of a minor political party.
House members serve two-year terms with limits of four terms and are paid an annual salary of $29,697.
There are 133,977 registered voters in District 33, according to the Supervisor of Elections website.
Tyler Vazquez is the Brevard County and North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or [email protected]. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Palm Bay Democrat Yantz files to run for Randy Fine's Florida House seat
