Democrat from Davenport files to challenge Josie Tomkow in Fla. House District 51

Octavio Hernandez, a Democrat from Davenport, has filed to challenge incumbent Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City, in next year’s election for Florida House District 51.

Hernandez, 43, submitted his paperwork to the Florida Division of Elections on July 10. He is an algebra teacher at Davenport High School and a father of two teenagers.

District 51 covers northern Polk County, north of Lakeland and Winter Haven and extending from the Pasco to Osceola county boundaries.

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Hernandez, who was born in Mexico, said he holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Central Florida. A teacher for nine years in Polk County Public Schools, he said he has been a representative with the Polk Education Association.

Tomkow, 27, is in her third full term in the Florida House after first winning a special election in 2018. She lists her occupation as cattle rancher.

In this year’s session, Tomkow served as chair of the PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee and was a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Hernandez said he would focus on educational issues in his campaign. He said he has started a petition calling for the state to establish a minimum period for school lunches.

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“How is it that criminals get longer lunches than students?” Hernandez said. “The average lunch in my school is 23 minutes, and that's counting going to the line and sitting down and eating. How can anyone in their right mind think that that is healthy for students? But we don't talk about that, and most parents don't even know about it.”

Hernandez also criticized the state’s Republican leadership for enacting such measures as the Parental Rights in Education law, labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by critics. He said the Legislature has focused on cultural conflicts rather than seeking to improve the state’s educational system.

“I believe what's happening is the governor and a lot of the people in power are afraid to say anything about what's really going on in the public school systems,” he said. “And here we have our representatives that are talking about things that are not happening in the classroom, things that are just being fought out in media for political gain, and using our students as political pawns and forgetting about our students and our teachers.”

Hernandez also said that schools are spending as much time as ever on standardized testing, despite a pledge from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reduce testing with the elimination of end-of-year exams.

Tomkow has about $19,000 in available campaign money, according to the Florida Division of Elections. Her political committee, Florida Farmers and Ranchers United, has collected nearly $900,000 in contributions since 2018 and has about $416,000 in available funds, state records show.

Contributors to Tomkow’s PAC include Publix, the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative, TECO Energy, Charter Communications and RAI Services Company, a North Carolina tobacco firm. Hernandez has not yet reported any campaign contributions.

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Tomkow easily defeated Bill Olson of Davenport in the Republican primary last year and faced no opponent in the general election.

Hernandez is only the second Democrat to file in one of the four state House districts that include Polk County. Bonnie Patterson-James of Lakeland is challenging Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, in District 50.

Six Republicans have entered the race in District 48, as incumbent Rep. Sam Killebrew, R-Winter Haven, faces term limits. The other local incumbent, Rep. Melony Bell, R-Fort Meade, filed last week to run for Polk County Supervisor of Elections rather than seek re-election.

No Democrat has been elected to the Florida Legislature from a district representing Polk County since Darren Soto, now a member of Congress, served in the Florida Senate in 2016. Republicans hold supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Democrat Octavio Hernandez to challenge Josie Tomkow in Florida House