House Dem Leader Fentrice Driskell Will Run For A Tampa Bay Senate Seat In 2026

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

July 14, 2025

Florida House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell announced on Monday that she will run for the state Senate District 16 seat in the Tampa Bay area next year. The seat is being vacated by Democrat Darryl Rouson because of term limits.

Driskell, a Hillsborough County Democrat, was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2018 and is term-limited from running again for that seat next year. There had been speculation at one point that she was considering a run for governor, but that talk had quieted over the past year.

“I am incredibly excited to announce my campaign to serve the people of Florida State Senate District 16,” Driskell said in a written statement.

“As a member of the Florida House for the past seven years, I’ve fought to lower housing costs, provide property insurance relief, and expand access to affordable healthcare. Our state faces significant challenges, and I am ready to bring my dedication and experience to the State Senate to ensure all Floridians have the opportunity to thrive. This campaign is about protecting your freedom to be healthy, prosperous, and safe, and I will fight for you every step of the way.”

Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner announced her candidacy for the seat last December. She was first elected to the Florida House in 2020 and intended to run for a congressional seat in Pinellas County in 2022 before it was redistricted to make it less friendly to a Democrat. She did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Senate District 16 includes parts of South St. Petersburg and then goes across Tampa Bay to encompass a large portion of Hillsborough County. That’s significant in the respect that Driskell lives in Hillsborough, whereas Rayner makes Pinellas County her home. Nearly 70% of Democratic primary voters live on the Hillsborough County side of the district, which was drawn up during the 2022 reapportionment process.

Driskell’s announcement carries two significant endorsements, from former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and former Tampa Democratic legislator Arthenia Joyner, who previously held the seat before leaving the Legislature in 2016.

“I’ve known Fentrice for nearly a decade,” Joyner said in a written statement. “She has the experience, vision, and work ethic necessary to be an outstanding State Senator. She has consistently fought for our communities, and I know she will continue that fight as the next senator for District 16. She has my complete and total support.”

Driskell, an attorney, is the first Black woman to lead the Florida House Democrats in the state Legislature and the first person in more than 30 years to win election to that position twice.

Amaro Lionhart is the only Republican to have filed in the race as of yet. The primary election will take place in August 2026.

The configuration of the Senate seat is the subject of a federal lawsuit that went on trial in a Tampa courtroom last month. A lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Florida and the Civil Rights & Racial Justice Clinic at New York University, representing a group of Tampa and St. Petersburg residents, alleges that the Florida Senate’s plan in 2022 to connect Black populations from parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties into District 16 was a racial gerrymander. A three-judge panel of federal judges is expected to decide on the case sometime later this summer.

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