Fentrice Driskell. (Screenshot via Driskell’s Facebook)
TAMPA BAY | Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell won the race for Florida Senate District 16 on Aug. 18, besting LGBTQ+ Democratic state Rep. Michele Rayner.
The district includes parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties and is currently represented by state Sen. Darryl Rouson, who is term limited. The race was decided in the primary as no Republican ran to succeed him.
According to election night results from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, 38,278 votes were cast in the county. Driskell received 23,958 of them for a total of 62.59%, while Rayner received 14,320 or 37.41%.
Election night results from the Pinellas County Supervisor Elections show that 21,898 votes were cast in the region. Driskell received 11,942 of them, or 54.53%, while Rayner received 9,956, or 45.47%.
Rayner became the first Black, openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to the Florida Legislature in 2020. She left the state House to pursue a run for state Senate, receiving endorsements from the Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County and Equality Florida Action PAC in the process.
Driskell, an LGBTQ+ ally who was endorsed by the Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, told Watermark Out News ahead of the vote that her record shows she “will show up every single time” for the LGBTQ+ community as state Senator.
The Hillsborough County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus and Driskell’s campaign marked the victory via social media:
“As Tampa Bay’s next Senator, I look forward to working for the good of every person in this district, whether they voted for me or not,” Driskell noted. “We’re a community. And my promise is to continue working to make sure that everyone has the freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe.”
Rayner also thanked supporters in a message Aug. 19.
“There’s a lot more work that we can continue to do together and I look forward to doing that … I do believe a better world is still possible and we can do that in the legislature, we can do it outside the legislature,” she shared. “But the one thing I know that we’re going to do, we’re going to do it together.”
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