Florida State Senate District 27
Florida State Senate District 27 is represented by Ben Albritton (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Florida state senators represented an average of 539,263 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 472,519 residents.
About the office
Members of the Florida State Senate serve four-year terms with term limits. However, in the election following reapportionment, some senators are elected to two-year terms, in order to maintain staggered terms among the senators.[1] Florida legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.
Qualifications
Article III, Section 15 of the Florida Constitution states: "Each legislator shall be at least twenty-one years of age, an elector and resident of the district from which elected and shall have resided in the state for a period of two years prior to election."[2]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $29,697/year | $175/day for a maximum of 60 days. Members can also receive per diem outside of the session. |
Term limits
- See also: State legislatures with term limits
The Florida legislature is one of 16 state legislatures with term limits. Voters enacted the Florida Term Limits Act in 1992. That initiative said that Florida senators are subject to term limits of no more than two four-year terms.
The first year that the term limits enacted in 1992 impacted the ability of incumbents to run for office was in 2000.[4]
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Florida State Legislature, a special election must be called to fill the vacant seat.[5] The governor is responsible for calling the election and must consult with the secretary of state to set the election dates and nominating deadlines.[6] The person elected to fill the seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[7]
See sources: Florida Stat. § 100.101
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On March 3, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court approved new legislative maps drawn by the Florida State Legislature. These maps took effect for Florida's 2022 legislative elections.
The maps were passed by the legislature as a joint resolution. The Florida State Senate voted 34-3 to approve the bill on January 20, and the Florida House of Representatives voted 77-39 to approve the bill on February 2.[8] Since the maps were passed as a joint resolution, they did not require the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to become law. After the legislature approved the maps, they submitted them to Attorney General Ashley B. Moody (R), who then petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to review the maps on February 9.[9][10]
How does redistricting in Florida work? In Florida, both congressional and state legislative district lines are drawn by the state legislature. Congressional lines are adopted as regular legislation and are subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative lines are passed via joint resolution and are not subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative district maps are automatically submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for approval. In the event that the court rejects the lines, the legislature is given a second chance to draft a plan. If the legislature cannot approve a state legislative redistricting plan, the state attorney general must ask the state supreme court to draft a plan. There are no similar procedures in place for congressional districts.[11]
The Florida Constitution requires that all districts, whether congressional or state legislative, be contiguous. Also, "where doing so does not conflict with minority rights, [districts] must be compact and utilize existing political and geographical boundaries where feasible." Districts cannot be drawn in such a way as to "favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent."[11][12]
Florida State Senate District 27
until November 7, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Florida State Senate District 27
starting November 8, 2022
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2024
See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 27
Incumbent Ben Albritton defeated Phillip Carter in the general election for Florida State Senate District 27 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ben Albritton (R) | 68.8 | 189,809 |
| Phillip Carter (D) | 31.2 | 86,045 | ||
| Total votes: 275,854 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Phillip Carter advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 27.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ben Albritton advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 27.
2022
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 27
Incumbent Ben Albritton defeated Christopher Proia in the general election for Florida State Senate District 27 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ben Albritton (R) | 71.2 | 141,045 |
 | Christopher Proia (D) | 28.8 | 56,940 | |
| Total votes: 197,985 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Christopher Proia advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 27.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Ben Albritton advanced from the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 27.
2020
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Florida State Senate District 27
Ray Rodrigues defeated Rachel Brown in the general election for Florida State Senate District 27 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ray Rodrigues (R) | 60.5 | 176,954 |
 | Rachel Brown (D) | 39.5 | 115,537 | |
| Total votes: 292,491 | |||
| = 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
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Rachel Brown advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida State Senate District 27.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 27
Ray Rodrigues defeated Heather Fitzenhagen in the Republican primary for Florida State Senate District 27 on August 18, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ray Rodrigues | 74.8 | 47,958 |
 | Heather Fitzenhagen | 25.2 | 16,118 | |
| Total votes: 64,076 | |||
| = 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 State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Florida State Senate 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 Lizbeth Benacquisto ran unopposed in the Florida State Senate District 27 general election.[13][14]
| Florida State Senate, District 27 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  Lizbeth Benacquisto Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||
Incumbent Lizbeth Benacquisto defeated Jason Maughan in the Florida State Senate District 27 Republican primary.[15][16]
| Florida State Senate, District 27 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Lizbeth Benacquisto Incumbent |
68.59% | 38,584 | |
| Republican | Jason Maughan | 31.41% | 17,672 | |
| Total Votes | 56,256 | |||
2012
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2012
Elections for the Florida State Senate consisted of a primary election on August 14, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 8, 2012. Jeff Clemens (D) defeated Travis Genard Harris (I) in the general election and Mack Bernard in the Democratic primary.[17][18]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeff Clemens |
99.9% | 127,365 | |
| Independent | Travis Genard Harris | 0.1% | 105 | |
| Total Votes | 127,470 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jeff Clemens |
50% | 12,157 |
| Mack Bernard | 50% | 12,140 |
| Total Votes | 24,297 | |
Campaign contributions
From 2012 to 2024, candidates for Florida State Senate District 27 raised a total of $3,438,322. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $264,486 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Florida State Senate District 27 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2024 | $389,879 | 2 | $194,940 |
| 2022 | $186,121 | 2 | $93,061 |
| 2020 | $886,254 | 3 | $295,418 |
| 2016 | $1,638,108 | 3 | $546,036 |
| 2012 | $337,959 | 3 | $112,653 |
| Total | $3,438,322 | 13 | $264,486 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Senate Website Archive, "Florida Constitution," accessed December 16, 2013(referenced Article III, Section 15a)
- ↑ The Florida Senate, "Constitution of the State of Florida," accessed February 10, 2023
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Florida State Legisature, "Florida Constitution," accessed February 11. 2021
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.101(2), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.141 (1) (2), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Florida Legislature, "2023 Florida Statutes," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 100.111 (1) (a-c), Florida Election Code)
- ↑ Florida State Senate, "CS/SJR 100: Joint Resolution of Apportionment," accessed March 3, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Florida Legislature approves redistricting maps for Senate and House," February 3, 2022
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Ashley Moody petitions court on legislative maps as congressional redistricting continues to pitter," February 9, 2022
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "Florida," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Florida Constitution, "Article III, Sections 20-21," accessed April 22, 2015
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate listing for 2016 general election," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Official 2012 General Election Results," accessed December 6, 2013
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate list," accessed December 6, 2013
