Christopher Latvala

Christopher Latvala

Republican Party

Pinellas County Commission District 5

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Karen Williams Seel

Prior offices

Florida House of Representatives District 67

Successor: Fentrice Driskell

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

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Christopher Latvala (Republican Party) is a member of the Pinellas County Commission in Florida, representing District 5. He assumed office on November 22, 2022. His current term ends on November 21, 2028.

Latvala (Republican Party) won re-election to the Pinellas County Commission to represent District 5 in Florida outright in the general election on November 5, 2024, after the Republican primary and general election were canceled.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Latvala's professional experience includes working as the vice president of Gulf Coast Imprinting Printing Services.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Pinellas County, Florida (2024)

General election

The general election was canceled. Christopher Latvala (R) won without appearing on the ballot.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Latvala in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Pinellas County, Florida (2022)

General election

Reason canceled : Unopposed candidate

2020

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 67

Incumbent Christopher Latvala defeated Dawn Douglas in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 67 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christopher Latvala (R)	57.0	47,018
	Submit photo	Dawn Douglas (D)	43.0	35,457

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 82,475
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67

Dawn Douglas defeated Michael Henkel in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67 on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Dawn Douglas	62.2	7,766
	Submit photo	Michael Henkel	37.8	4,729

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,495
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrew Apted (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Christopher Latvala advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67.

2018

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Florida House of Representatives District 67

Incumbent Christopher Latvala defeated Dawn Douglas in the general election for Florida House of Representatives District 67 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christopher Latvala (R)	54.0	33,600
	Submit photo	Dawn Douglas (D)	46.0	28,672

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,272
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67

Dawn Douglas defeated Tom Ryan in the Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Dawn Douglas	77.1	8,604
	Submit photo	Tom Ryan	22.9	2,555

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,159
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67

Incumbent Christopher Latvala advanced from the Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 67 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Christopher Latvala

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.

Incumbent Christopher Latvala defeated David S. Vogel in the Florida House of Representatives District 67 general election.

Florida House of Representatives, District 67 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Christopher Latvala Incumbent	58.57%	40,587
	Democratic	David S. Vogel	41.43%	28,711
Total Votes				69,298
Source: Florida Division of Elections

David S. Vogel ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 67 Democratic primary.

Florida House of Representatives, District 67 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	David S. Vogel  (unopposed)

Incumbent Christopher Latvala ran unopposed in the Florida House of Representatives District 67 Republican primary.

Florida House of Representatives, District 67 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Christopher Latvala Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Florida House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Florida House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 20, 2014. Steve Sarnoff defeated Thomas D. Ryan and Shawna Vercher in the Democratic primary, while Christopher Latvala defeated Christopher Shepard in the Republican primary. Latvala defeated Sarnoff in the general election.

Florida House of Representatives, District 67 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Steve Sarnoff	45.7%	3,669
Shawna Vercher	28.7%	2,303
Thomas Ryan	25.6%	2,055
Total Votes		8,027

Florida House of Representatives, District 67 Republican Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Christopher Latvala	67.2%	6,108
Christopher Shepard	32.8%	2,985
Total Votes		9,093

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Christopher Latvala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Christopher Latvala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Christopher Latvala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Christopher Latvala campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2020	Florida House of Representatives District 67	Won general	$370,585	N/A**
2018	Florida House of Representatives District 67	Won general	$325,081	N/A**
2016	Florida House of Representatives, District 67	Won	$418,640	N/A**
2014	Florida House of Representatives, District 67	Won	$456,562	N/A**
Grand total			$1,570,867	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Noteworthy events

Coronavirus pandemic
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Tested positive for coronavirus on August 30, 2020

See also: Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021

On August 30, 2020, Latvala announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

State legislative tenure

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Florida

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2022

In 2022, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 14.

• Americans for Prosperity Florida

Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.

• Associated Industries of Florida

Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

• Florida Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

• Progress Florida and Florida Watch

Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 2 to April 30. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Progress Florida and Florida Watch Legislators were scored based on their votes on health care, the economy, public schools, affordable housing, clean energy and water, reproductive rights, the freedom to vote and more. Sierra Club Florida Chapter Legislators are scored on votes on environmental bills. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 14 to March 19. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Foundation for Florida's Future: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 9 through March 11. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Florida Health Care Association: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues. Foundation for Florida's Future: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills related to education. Liberty First Network Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 through May 8. There was also a special session from June 7 to June 9. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. First Amendment Foundation Legislators are scored on their stance on public records access as it relates to Florida's "Sunshine Law" Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Florida Health Care Association: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Florida Family Action Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. Florida Health Care Association: House and Senate Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues. Fund Education Now Legislators are scored on whether the organization believes they are making an effort to provide “a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education.” Liberty First Network Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 1. Americans for Prosperity Florida Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues. Associated Industries of Florida Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues. Florida Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Florida Health Care Association Legislators are scored on their stances on issues related to healthcare. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Latvala was assigned to the following committees:

• House Budget Committee
• Commerce Committee
• Education & Employment Committee, Chair

2019-2020

Latvala was assigned to the following committees:

• House Budget Committee
• Education & Employment Committee, Vice Chair
• State Affairs Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Florida committee assignments, 2017
• Education
• Government Accountability

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Latvala served on the following committees:

Florida committee assignments, 2015
• Education

See also

2024 Elections

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Karen Williams Seel (R)	Pinellas County Commission District 5 2022-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Florida House of Representatives District 67 2014-2022	Succeeded by Fentrice Driskell (D)