With early voting wrapping up, Brevard County heads to Special General Election day
By Luis-Alfredo Garcia
June 6, 2025 at 12:45 PM EDT
A pair of seats in the Florida Legislature are on the ballot in Brevard County, and the state will hold a Special General Election Tuesday, June 10, to fill a vacancy in the state Senate and an upcoming vacancy in the state House. Early voting began the last day of May and will run until Saturday, June 7.
Florida Senate District 19 covers roughly all of Brevard County south of Titusville. Republican Randy Fine was elected to the position but resigned in pursuit of another post; he ran to replace Mike Waltz, who had joined President Trump’s administration, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Fine’s bid succeeded, and now the district he spent just five months representing gets to elect a new face or a seasoned Brevard legislator. The Republican candidate in the race to succeed Fine is state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who currently represents Florida House District 32.
At least she will until June 9 – just one day before the election. Mayfield tenured her resignation to chase the seat Fine left. She spent eight years representing Florida Senate District 19 but could not run for the position again because of term limits. Her brief time representing parts of central and south Brevard County in the Florida House functioned as a workaround to the limits.
University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said her move is completely legal, and now voters get to decide if she is still the right fit.
“Some people might think it violates the spirit of the law, he said. “But now voters will get to decide if that’s a good thing or if that’s a bad thing.”
There was contention from the state on her eligibility, but the Florida Supreme Court ultimately ruled that she could run for the state Senate spot.
The political rundown
Political control of either chamber is not up for play, and the incumbent for each open seat in the special elections is a Republican.
Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Brevard County by nearly 90,000 voters, and that dominance remains in each district participating in the special elections.
Book closing data for the two districts involved show that 180,188 Republicans registered in time to vote in the Senate District 19 race, while 103,976 Democrats did the same. And in House District 32, 64,597 Republicans are registered compared to 33,569 Democrats.
In fact, voters with no party affiliation outnumber Democrats by 1,000 in the state House race.
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, 37,605 of voters countywide have cast a ballot through vote-by-mail and early voting.
Mayfield is running against Democrat Vance Ahrens, a Grant-Valkaria native. Ahrens has raised more than $16,000 for her campaign, while Mayfield’s contributions top $169,000.
And vying for the upcoming vacancy in House District 32 are Democrat Juan Hinojosa and Republican Brian Hodgers. Hinojosa had run for the seat in November, but Mayfield defeated him with 64% of the vote.
Hodgers has raised more than $425,000 and Hinojosa has raised about $3,000, but $2,500 of those are in loans.
When to vote
Jewett said these special elections and seat changes can be challenging to keep up with for a voter, but those in Brevard who can vote should make the effort. “It almost reminds me of political musical chairs.”
“When we make state laws or pass a state budget, their views are being taken into account.”
Early voting will continue Friday, June 6, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and Tuesday’s Special General Election polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m..
The state House seat is up for reelection in 2026, while the state Senate seat’s term goes until 2028.
Florida Senate District 19 covers roughly all of Brevard County south of Titusville. Republican Randy Fine was elected to the position but resigned in pursuit of another post; he ran to replace Mike Waltz, who had joined President Trump’s administration, in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Fine’s bid succeeded, and now the district he spent just five months representing gets to elect a new face or a seasoned Brevard legislator. The Republican candidate in the race to succeed Fine is state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, who currently represents Florida House District 32.
At least she will until June 9 – just one day before the election. Mayfield tenured her resignation to chase the seat Fine left. She spent eight years representing Florida Senate District 19 but could not run for the position again because of term limits. Her brief time representing parts of central and south Brevard County in the Florida House functioned as a workaround to the limits.
University of Central Florida political science professor Aubrey Jewett said her move is completely legal, and now voters get to decide if she is still the right fit.
“Some people might think it violates the spirit of the law, he said. “But now voters will get to decide if that’s a good thing or if that’s a bad thing.”
There was contention from the state on her eligibility, but the Florida Supreme Court ultimately ruled that she could run for the state Senate spot.
The political rundown
Political control of either chamber is not up for play, and the incumbent for each open seat in the special elections is a Republican.
Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Brevard County by nearly 90,000 voters, and that dominance remains in each district participating in the special elections.
Book closing data for the two districts involved show that 180,188 Republicans registered in time to vote in the Senate District 19 race, while 103,976 Democrats did the same. And in House District 32, 64,597 Republicans are registered compared to 33,569 Democrats.
In fact, voters with no party affiliation outnumber Democrats by 1,000 in the state House race.
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, 37,605 of voters countywide have cast a ballot through vote-by-mail and early voting.
Mayfield is running against Democrat Vance Ahrens, a Grant-Valkaria native. Ahrens has raised more than $16,000 for her campaign, while Mayfield’s contributions top $169,000.
And vying for the upcoming vacancy in House District 32 are Democrat Juan Hinojosa and Republican Brian Hodgers. Hinojosa had run for the seat in November, but Mayfield defeated him with 64% of the vote.
Hodgers has raised more than $425,000 and Hinojosa has raised about $3,000, but $2,500 of those are in loans.
When to vote
Jewett said these special elections and seat changes can be challenging to keep up with for a voter, but those in Brevard who can vote should make the effort. “It almost reminds me of political musical chairs.”
“When we make state laws or pass a state budget, their views are being taken into account.”
Early voting will continue Friday, June 6, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, June 7, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. — and Tuesday’s Special General Election polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m..
The state House seat is up for reelection in 2026, while the state Senate seat’s term goes until 2028.