Election 2024: Term limits shake things up for statehouse candidates

Election-related activity is starting to heat up for 2024 as several candidates have filed paperwork to run for seats in the Florida Legislature.

Flagler County Commissioner Donald O'Brien announced this week that he's seeking a seat in the Florida House of Representatives and state Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, will run for the Florida Senate.

Leek filed to replace Travis Hutson in District 7. Hutson, R-St. Augustine, will be ineligible for re-election due legislative term limits. He's not the only one. Leek and House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast will also be termed out.

"I will continue the work of empowering parents, protecting seniors and keeping taxes low − and maintaining a government that doesn't intrude on opportunity and freedom, and always back our law enforcement officers who protect us from those who would do us harm, both foreign and domestic," Leek wrote in a text to the News-Journal on Friday. "This seat is open, also due to term limits, and I intend to keep it conservative and keep it Republican."

While Renner's future is unclear, O'Brien is the first contender to emerge for the House District 19 seat left open by the Speaker.

Rep. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, who represents portions of West Volusia in District 27, will also be termed out of the House and has filed to run for Senate District 9, which extends from Marion to Levy counties and includes the southern half of Alachua County. That seat is now held by Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville.

Also, state Reps. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, and Chase Tramont, R-Port Orange, have signed paperwork stating their intentions to seek reelection.

O'Brien, 63, is a Flagler County commissioner who's served since 2016.

He said he's running to support Gov. Ron DeSantis' "freedom-focused agenda" and protect civil liberties.

“I am eager to continue my long-term commitment of service to the citizens of Northeast Florida. I will bring a conservative focus to protecting our individual freedoms and liberties, enhancing our quality of life, while ensuring that our state government maintains fiscal discipline in its budget,” O’Brien said in a prepared statement.

He counts economic development, "reducing ineffective regulations on businesses," fiscal discipline and saving for natural disasters among his priorities.

O'Brien is chief financial officer and an account executive with Hayward Brown-Flagler Inc., an insurance agency. He previously worked in the banking industry in New York and Florida for more than 20 years.

O'Brien has been married to his wife Wendi for 42 years. They have two adult sons and two granddaughters.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Donald O'Brien to run for Florida House; Tom Leek to seek Senate seat