Tampa politics: Ashley Herrmann unseats incumbent in District 69
Unofficial Hillsborough County results show the community organizer leading with nearly 52 percent of the vote in a upset over Rep. Danny Alvarez.
By Aiko Brooks ·
Ashley Herrmann has defeated incumbent State Representative Danny Alvarez to take the Florida House seat for District 69.
According to unofficial results from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Herrmann secured just under 52 percent of the vote across all reporting precincts. The campaign relied heavily on door-to-door canvassing organized by the Tampa chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. Herrmann, a community organizer and the first member of her family to attend college, maintained a strict stance against data centers and advocated for developers to pay fair development fees.
During a recent interview on the WMNF public affairs program The Skinny, Herrmann criticized Alvarez for supporting HB 399. That bill limits the fees Hillsborough County can charge developers for project reviews and restricts when local officials can deny those projects. Herrmann noted that builders and the construction industry contributed approximately $233,000 to Alvarez’s campaign and political committees. Alvarez told the same program that candidates do not always know which political action committees are funding their campaigns.
Herrmann was not the only Hillsborough Democrat to gain ground in Tallahassee. First-time candidate Luis Salazar defeated Dan Weldon in the District 69 Senate race with 59 percent of the vote. Former Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera won his state House race against Lisette Bonano with 66 percent of the vote. Republicans held their positions in surrounding districts, with Karen Gonzalez Pittman defeating Ben Braver in District 65, Traci Koster winning in District 66, and Ryan Gill taking District 68.
The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections continues to process final counts as the race concludes.
