Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh to run for Florida House

Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh will resign her seat in June to focus on the race for the District 73 seat in the Florida House of Representatives, she announced Wednesday.

The seat is currently held by Rep. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota. He was elected in 2016, but is running this year for the Florida Senate District 23 seat being vacated by Sen. Greg Steube, who instead is running for a seat in Congress.

According to Baugh, who was first elected to the commission in 2012, she not only has the support of Gruters, but it was Gruters who suggested Baugh run for the seat.

"Gosh yes, we've had conversations," Baugh said. "Joe and I have worked together for a long time, as well as (Rep.) Jim Boyd and (Sen.) Bill Galvano and others. We have all worked closely together for Manatee County. When Joe found out Steube was going to run for Congress and he was going to run for his state Senate seat, he called me immediately and said, 'This is your seat and you should run for it.'"

While Gruters isn't officially endorsing anyone yet, he said that he thinks Baugh would do a great job if given the chance.

"I've known Vanessa a very long time and working with her while I was the state representative," Gruters said. "I think she was extremely proactive and was a huge advocate on behalf of Manatee County on some of the projects I was trying to get funded. If she ends up being the Republican nominee to replace me, I think she would do an amazing job."

Baugh said she took her time making the decision because she wanted to get a feel for what the community wants.

"The response was so nice and so positive, I knew I would do it," she said.

Her filing is not yet on the Florida Division of Elections website, but Baugh confirmed the documents were sent by two-day mail to Tallahassee on Monday and should be official soon.

Baugh will officially announce her resignation in June, with the intent of her last day being Nov. 6, Election Day.

Baugh was re-elected in 2016 to a four-year term expiring in 2020. By announcing her resignation in June, it will give the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office an opportunity to open her seat up for the 2018 election for a new commissioner for a two-year term.

That, Baugh said, will eliminate the need for a special election and the associated costs.

"The bottom line for me is that the six years of experience I've had on the county commission is a good fit for me, because I know how local government works," Baugh said. "Therefore I'm a perfect fit to continue to fight for Manatee and Sarasota counties, to bring home whatever we need done.

"I'm definitely not leaving Manatee County. This is another avenue to go to the state level and serve Manatee and Sarasota counties."

District 73 encompasses 85 percent of Manatee County and parts of Sarasota. Baugh said funding for infrastructure, affordable housing and the fight against the opioid epidemic are among her top priorities, if elected.

In the August primaries, Baugh will face fellow Republican Tommy Gregory, who filed March 12. The winner will advance to the November general election. On the Democratic side, Liv Coleman, who filed in January, is the only candidate so far.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh to run for Florida House."