Tommy Gregory wins re-election to House District 73 seat with 63 percent of the vote
Republican incumbent Tommy Gregory defeated Democrat challenger David Reeves Fairey to win re-election to the District 73 Florida House of Representatives seat.
With 32 of 32 precincts reporting, Gregory received 77,009 votes, 63.3 % of the total. Fairey received 42,676 votes, 35.6 % of the total.
Gregory is finishing his freshman term in the House while Fairey was a first-time political candidate. Neither had opposition during the primary season.
Gregory admitted that he was surprised at the margin of his victory and called it a reflection of the energy of the Republican Party in the district and statewide.
District 73, which begins north of State Road 62 in Parrish and extends south to Clark Road in Sarasota, includes Lakewood Ranch and Myakka City as well as the eastern fringes of Palmetto and Bradenton.
“I have worked very hard for everyone in the district,” Gregory said.
Going into his second term, Gregory said he has three priorities: The economy and getting control of the COVID-19 pandemic;; transportation and road building; and legislation needed by the men and women of law enforcement.
Gregory is an attorney and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. In 2018. he defeated Democrat Liv Coleman with 62 percent of the vote. Previously, the District 73 seat was held by Republican Joe Gruters, now a Florida state senator.
In his first term in the House, Gregory filed the Honor and Remember flag bill that honors the families of service members who lost their lives in battle. Gregory also supported legislation to allow nurse practitioners to use the full scope of their training to treat patients. In addition, he worked to increase hunting and fishing opportunities for Floridians while cracking down on the spread of invasive species.
In a second term, Gregory said he would like to focus on helping find solutions to traffic congestion and dangerous intersections, to close loopholes in the law regarding sexual offenders, and help balance the state budget, which seems certain to be a bigger-than- normal challenge because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fairey, a chief financial officer for a tech company, who is also a certified public accountant, said, if elected, he would focus on addressing the effects of the pandemic, work for structural reform of the economy and health care, work to end gun violence, and fight for a green new deal for Florida.
“We knew it was a tough race going in. Obviously, we wanted to win, but this isn’t about me or any one person. It’s about the values we are fighting for,” Fairey said.
“I am not done in politics, not by a long shot. This was my first race. We should all be proud of the great turnout at the polls,” he said.
