Florida voters will have many more choices on 2018 ballot

By STEVE BOUSQUET

TIMES/HERALD BUREAU TALLAHASSEE — Florida may or may not see a blue wave this fall, but it’s already experiencing a new wave.

A flood of new candidates for seats in the state Legislature, many of them Democratic women, met Friday’s deadline to get on the ballot and give voters many more choices than in past election cycles.

The newcomers include more than 80 women legislative challengers across the state.

Some are disgusted with President Donald Trump and a dysfunctional Congress, and some are motivated by #MeToo or #NeverAgain movements or they want to ride that blue wave — even though Republicans insist there won’t be one.

“I got tired of screaming at the television set,” said Carol Lawrence, a lawyer and Realtor who’s running as a Democrat against Republican Rep. David Santiago of Deltona and is a first-time candidate at age 76. “If more women were in positions of power in this country, we’d have a lot fewer conflicts. We need to come to a place of peace in this world.”

The Florida Democratic Party, widely criticized for lackluster recruitment of challengers in past elections, stepped up its efforts and fielded candidates in all 20 Senate seats on the ballot.

That’s a marked difference from two years ago,when nine GOP senators won new terms without opposition along with three Democrats.

The Democratic Party’s executive director, Juan Penalosa, said the party worked with like-minded groups, such as Ruth’s List and The Women’s March, to find more candidates.

“Republicans are talking about Trump and Russia and