Kelly Smith (Florida State House District 38 candidate)
Kelly Smith (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the Florida House of Representatives to represent District 38. Smith lost in the special general election on June 18, 2019.
Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2019
See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2019
General election
Special general election for Florida House of Representatives District 38
Randy Maggard defeated Kelly Smith in the special general election for Florida House of Representatives District 38 on June 18, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Randy Maggard (R) | 55.6 | 9,617 |
Kelly Smith (D)  | 44.4 | 7,685 | ||
| Total votes: 17,302 | |||
| = 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
Special Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 38
Kelly Smith advanced from the special Democratic primary for Florida House of Representatives District 38 on April 9, 2019.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Kelly Smith | |
| ||||
| = 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
Special Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 38
Randy Maggard defeated David McCallister in the special Republican primary for Florida House of Representatives District 38 on April 9, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Randy Maggard | 61.9 | 4,521 |
| David McCallister | 38.1 | 2,784 | ||
| Total votes: 7,305 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kelly Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
My top priorities are smart growth and infrastructure investment in Pasco County, strong support for our education system and economic growth that works for all Floridians.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Education is one of the driving factors of my campaign, the Florida Constitution requires legislators to do only two things each year — develop a balanced budget and to fund safe, equitable, high quality public education. Properly funding and supporting public education must be Florida’s top priority. My kids were adopted through foster care as toddlers and have varying but significant mental health needs as a result of the trauma and neglect they experienced in early childhood. Over the years they’ve been in public school, nonprofit charters and even private school. The cuts made to our public school system has made it increasingly hard for students with the same challenges as my children to receive the quality of educational investment that they need to succeed, we desperately need a school system that allows all of our students to do well regardless of background.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
Leslie Knope of Parks and Recreation is my favorite fictional character. She shows the leadership skills and passion for local issues that I firmly believe in.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
I believe that compassion and character count in leadership. I've worked my entire life to live by these principles and I would be honored to represent Pasco County in a way that will make us proud.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I live in Wesley Chapel with my husband Patrick and our three children. Patrick and I adopted our children through foster care when they were toddlers. Being their mom has taught me how to be a fierce and effective advocate. I am confident that my advocacy and negotiating skills will help me be an effective State Representative.
What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?
Maintaining a high quality education system and properly managing our explosive population growth.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
