Democrats work to finalize Linton replacement in Senate District 21 race against Boyd
Democratic leaders in Manatee and Hillsborough counties are moving quickly to replace Amanda Linton’s name on the general election ballot.
Linton, a candidate for Florida State Senate District 21, recently withdrew from the race after COVID-19 forced her family to relocate. Now, local Democrats are working with party leaders to find an alternative candidate for the election in November.
“Things are moving very fast and we want to take care of this as quickly as possible,” said Tracy Pratt, chairperson of the Manatee County Democratic Party.
Because Linton already qualified and did not have a primary opponent, the district’s Democratic leadership is allowed to name a replacement.
Senate District 21 includes all of Manatee and parts of Hillsborough. Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, holds the seat now but will be term-limited in November.
Working with her counterparts in Hillsborough, Pratt interviewed with two finalists for the seat Friday afternoon — Anthony Eldon and Jim Flora. One of them will be chosen to take up the fight against former state Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, later this year.
“We are incredibly excited by the amount of energy and interest. We believe this is becoming a very competitive seat,” Pratt said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald.
Eldon, a social activist and teacher at Buffalo Creek Middle School, looks forward to the challenge of running against Boyd. If chosen, the 23-year-old expects his political inexperience to be attacked, but inexperience is better than failure, he said.
“Jim Boyd has been in Florida Legislature for the past eight years as a Republican and I feel like what he’ll do is attack my inexperience,” Eldon said. “However, I would challenge him by saying you’ve been here for eight years and look at the state we’re in. We’re a COVID-19 hotspot, our tourism is devastated and they keep pulling money out of our schools.”
Boyd previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018.
Flora, 67, worked as the chief operating officer with a pet food business before retiring in 2015, and boasts a lifelong career in agribusiness and consumer products, according to a release. In a statement provided to the Bradenton Herald, he said COVID-19 inspired him to volunteer as a potential candidate.
“The new normal requires thoughtful assessment of options in how we allocate limited resources to address the opportunities that we face,” Flora said in a statement. “The time for radical right policies is over. We need new collaborative thinking, new blood and new energy to lead us forward.”
An official decision is expected within the next few days.
