Jay Trumbull wins District 2 seat in Florida Senate by landslide

PANAMA CITY — Jay Trumbull easily won the Florida Senate District 2 seat.

Trumbull defeated opponent Carolynn Zonia by a landslide on Tuesday in the 2022 general election. He won with 158,709 votes or almost 79%, while Zonia received 43,300 votes or about 21%, according to unofficial results as of Wednesday morning from across the district.

In Bay County, he received 51,749 votes or about 78%, while Zonia received 14,408 votes or almost 22%.

"I feel great, and it's a real honor, honestly, to have the opportunity to be able to represent this wonderful community," Trumbull said. "To win by this significant of a margin is extremely humbling."

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Trumbull, who previously held the District 6 seat in the Florida House of Representatives, announced his campaign for the District 2 state Senate seat June 7, saying he would be fighting for "the small businesses and working families of Florida."

Trumbull ran for the Senate after reaching his term limit in the Florida House.

He will replace George Gainer, a former Bay County Commissioner and Panama City businessman, who announced his retirement from the Senate on June 6.  District 2 consists of Bay, Holmes, Jackson, Walton, Washington counties and parts of Okaloosa County.

Trumbull said one of his main goals moving forward is "to make sure Northwest Florida has a voice and a seat at the table." He hopes to do this by helping the area claim as much federal funding as possible.

During his campaign, Trumbull received the endorsements of incoming state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, and state Rep. Brad Drake, R-Marianna, as well as Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The Panama City native attended Auburn University and received a bachelor's degree in small business management and entrepreneurship. He started his political career in 2014, elected to the Florida House of Representatives for District 6 and served eight consecutive years.

"Northwest Florida absolutely needs to have a seat at the table," Trumbull said. "I think it's imperative that there's a constant voice from our neck of the woods that is sharing the issues we have and fighting for the things we hold most dear."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Jay Trumbull wins District 2 Florida Senate seat, beats Carolynn Zonia