Olszewski wins House District 44
Republican Bobby Olszewski won the special election for state House District 44 on Tuesday, keeping the seat in the GOP column in a district that had been trending Democratic.
Olszewski, 39, a former Winter Garden commissioner, won about 56 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Democrat Eddy Dominguez. The seat represents parts of southwest Orange County, including Windermere and the Walt Disney World resort area.
Dominguez had to overcome the unusual obstacle of his name not being on the ballot after the original Democratic candidate withdrew, but he still fared better than any Democrat in the district in a decade.
Olszewski will serve the remaining year of former Republican state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle’s two-year term. Eisnaugle resigned to become a judge earlier this year.
“I am honored and humbled to be the next member of the Florida House of Representatives,” he said Tuesday night. “I truly look forward to serving District 44 and representing all constituents. … There’s no question I put my heart and soul into this campaign and look forward to putting everything I have to serving in Tallahassee.”
His goals, he said, were “growing the economy, creating outstanding schools for our children and to make Florida an outstanding place to live for generations.”
Olszewski was outspent in the August GOP primary by John Newstreet, president of the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber of Commerce, but won a slim victory to go on to face the Democratic candidate in the general election. The district has long been held by Republicans, but in 2016 a majority of voters there supported Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by about 6,000 votes.
Despite the opportunity for Democrats, the party’s attempts at winning the seat ran into problems almost from the start.
The original candidate, Paul Chandler, faced a lawsuit questioning his eligibility because he voted in Missouri last year and withdrew last month after the printing deadline — leaving Dominguez’s name off the ballot.
The lawsuit by Republican operative Charles Hart was dropped, but could have been brought back if Dominguez won. Florida law states a party can’t replace someone deemed ineligible.
“I’m super proud of the campaign we ran,” Dominguez said. “It was an example of what can be accomplished in the Democratic Party when we all come together. … Not having my name on the ballot, that alone is a huge detractor, and it seems we overcame that.”
He pointed out that he garnered more votes than Olszewski on Election Day — 2,279 to 2,120 — though that wasn’t enough to overcome big deficits in early voting and mail-in ballots.
Dominguez also said he plans to run again for a full term next year.
“I’m calling this day zero,” he said. “Tomorrow is when we start all over again. It’ll be a shot at a real campaign, and we’re going to pull it all together for this district.”