Editorial
Who will be the voice of the new Florida House District 77?
Voters will decide in November when Republican Tiffany Esposito and Democrat Eric Engelhart face off.
Esposito won the Republican primary nomination Tuesday with 71 percent of the vote, according to Lee County Elections. Her opponent, Ford O’Connell, got 29 percent.
Democrat Engelhart ran unopposed in his party and therefore wasn’t on Tuesday’s ballot.
Her Republican opponent, O’Connell, congratulated Esposito in a text.
O’Connell blamed his loss on “an insurmountable spend of over $150k+ in a misleading negative ad buy by dark money groups that we just couldn’t counter.”
Now Esposito and Engelhart will be competing in November to be the first state representative for the new Florida House District 77. The district was redrawn this year as part of Florida’s once-a-decade redistricting process.
District 77 now contains Lehigh Acres (which used to be in District 79 with North Fort Myers), Three Oaks, San Carlos Park, Alva, Buckingham, and some other parts of unincorporated Lee County (including Southwest Florida International Airport). The district previously included Cape Coral and didn’t contain Lehigh Acres at all.
Both candidates have said District 77 gives the fast-growing region — and especially Lehigh Acres — a stronger voice in Tallahassee. And each candidate wants to be that voice.
Eric Engelhart
Engelhart, 58, of Lehigh Acres is a registered Democrat, but he calls himself more of an “independent thinker” and an “independent Democrat.” He says he only chose to run as a Democrat because he had to choose either Democrat or Republican to run in the closed primary system.
The longtime political activist works as a chauffeur for Washington, D.C.-based Company Carey International. Most of his clients are in Naples.
His key campaign issues include the environment, public safety, and getting Lehigh Acres students out of trailers and back into the main school buildings.
Engelhart said he feels good about his chances of winning the November election.
“I feel very comfortable,” he said in a text, “and believe I can get the votes to go to Tallahassee. Very confident. … Don’t underestimate the voters in District Florida 77 House of Representatives. They will choose the candidate to represent them.”
Asked what sets him apart from Esposito, Engelhart said he’s taken zero endorsements and no PAC money. Esposito declined to comment on that.
Tiffany Esposito
Esposito, 35, of San Carlos Park is president and CEO of the regional chamber of commerce SWFL Inc. (formerly the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce).
Her key campaign issues are mostly related to businesses and the Southwest Florida economy. That includes building or repairing roads, ports, and other infrastructure; ensuring that students are getting trained for careers that exist in Southwest Florida, and building more affordable housing.
Facts. Not frenzy.
Esposito’s homesteaded property is not in House District 77.
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She also opposes sex education and the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. On Tuesday, she added that she believes in protecting the second amendment and “making sure we are protecting life at all stages. So a pro-life campaign.”
Esposito said she also feels confident going into the general election. “Like I said, we have a really strong grassroots campaign, and meeting the voters and hearing what they have to say — that all makes a difference in getting your name out there and building a following.”
Esposito said she doesn’t know enough about Engelhart’s platform to comment on it.
For more information about both candidates, visit voteforericengelhart.com or tiffanyforfl.com.
Is it really necessary to headline your article with information about the private sexual preferences of any candidate? Does that have one single thing to do with the platform on which she runs, the issues that need addressing or the probability of how effective she would be in office? She has conservative values and she’s Republican so I will vote for her if she’s on my ballot. It matters not who she loves when she gets home after work! By the way, why didn’t the author mention any sexual habits of the men running against her? Hypocrite!
We have voted for men and women republicans that said they were conservatives, and when they won, were closet liberals. Hope if elected she will be a great representative for truth, and the values that made America a wonderful free nation.