A conservative Republican has defeated his Democratic challenger to win a Florida House seat vacated when Rep. Clay Ford died this year. Mike Hill is the second black Republican elected to the House since the end of the Civil War.
Mike Hill got 58 percent of the vote in the heavily Republican panhandle district, defeating labor-union leader Jeremy Lau. Hill is an Air Force veteran who runs an insurance agency. He said, his priority in office will be to uphold the U.S. and state constitutions.
“The voters decided that they liked the conservative message of limited government, low taxes, personal freedom and individual responsibility," Hill said.
Hill will be the second black Republican to join the Legislature, after former Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll was in office from 2003 to 2011. He said, he doesn’t know yet whether he’ll join the Legislative Black Caucus, which currently has all Democratic members.