Luis Salazar at St Pete Pride. (Photo by Ryan Williams-Jent)
TAMPA | Democrat Luis Salazar defeated Republican Dan Weldon Nov. 3 in the race for Florida House District 64, flipping the seat last held by Democrat-turned-Republican Susan Valdes.
According to unofficial Election Night results from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Salazar received 26,126 votes, or 58.95%. Weldon received 18,194, or 41.05%.
Salazar previously served as president of the Hillsborough LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, a local chapter of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus of which he is vice president. He is also a former Watermark Out News employee and veteran who credits his time in the Navy for “shaping his lifelong commitment to duty, teamwork and community.”
“This victory belongs to the people of District 64. It belongs to every volunteer who knocked on doors, every neighbor who made a phone call, every organization that stood alongside us, and every voter who believed that our community deserves better,” Salazar shared Nov. 4.
“We didn’t just flip a seat from red to blue. We built a movement rooted in our neighborhoods, powered by working families, and united by the belief that government should work for the people, not the powerful,” he continued. “I’m incredibly humbled by the trust our community has placed in me, and I promise to carry their voices with me to Tallahassee every single day.”
Salazar specifically thanked Hillsborough LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, Equality Florida and other supporters for their help “in building a stronger future for Hillsborough County.”
Campaign Manager Nick Biscardi added that the “results showed what is possible when a community comes together behind a candidate who genuinely cares about the people he hopes to represent.”
“Flipping a Republican-held district by nearly 18 percentage points is an extraordinary accomplishment, and it speaks to the trust voters have placed in Luis and the movement we built together,” he shared. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team and everyone who helped make this victory possible.”
Salazar says he will advocate for affordable housing, meaningful property insurance reform, accessible healthcare and more, “policies that put working families first.” The campaign shared his election is “the beginning of a new chapter for District 64, one grounded in service, accountability and a commitment to the people who call this community home.”
For more information, visit VoteLuis.com.
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