Sen. Darryl Rouson: ‘It's Great To Have Options' Regarding Potential House Race

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix

August 11, 2025

Tampa Bay-area Democratic state Sen. Darryl Rouson says he is open-minded about whether he’ll try to stay in the Florida Legislature next year by making a run for a Florida House seat.

Rouson, who turned 70 last month, has served in the Legislature since 2008 but is term-limited from running again for his District 16 state Senate seat in 2026.

He says he is seriously considering filing to run for the House District 62 seat in Pinellas County, which will be open next year because Democratic incumbent Michele Rayner is departing to run for Rouson’s Senate seat.

“Well, it’s good to have to options, and I believe in experience plus relationship-building equals success. And I’ve been able to have great success, both in the House and the Senate, and things will take care of themselves,” he told this reporter while speaking on WMNF-88.5 FM radio in Tampa on Friday.

So does that mean he is running?

“Well, I’m weighing options, and it’s nice to have options,” he said.

Although it’s more common for state representatives term-limited out of office to run for the more select state Senate (where there are just 40 members compared to 120 in the House), it’s not unprecedented by any means.

Last year, Melbourne Republican Debbie Mayfield won a seat in the House after being term-limited from her Senate seat (she ultimately won back that seat after it became open again when Randy Fine departed for Congress).

Brevard County Republican Thad Altman served in the House, the Senate, and then back in the House before being term-limited from office last year.

Pasco County Property Tax Collector Mike Fasano is another prominent legislator who couldn’t stay away from Tallahassee. The New Port Richey Republican served in the House from 1994 to 2002; in the Senate from 2002 to 2012; and returned to the House in 2012.

He departed from that seat a year later, when Gov. Rick Scott appointed him as tax collector, a job he’s held ever since.

Florida voters approved eight-year term limits for members of the Florida Legislature in 1992. Some senators (like Rouson now) have been allowed to serve an additional two years due to a quirk in state law regarding redistricting.

In an apparent response to legislators who switch legislative chambers after completing their terms, now-Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia filed a resolution during the 2025 session (SJR 536) to clarify that the Constitution imposes a lifetime limit of 16 years in state legislative office — eight years max in the House, eight years max in the Senate.

There was a caveat for senators who serve reduced two-year terms due to redistricting. The measure would have gone to the voters as a proposed constitutional amendment in 2026, but stalled after being approved in one committee stop.

“Let’s stop the practice of people continually running for the same office and bouncing back and forth between chambers,” Ingoglia said on X. “Serving the people of Florida should be a privilege, and an honor, not a career.”

The configuration of Rouson’s Senate District 16 seat is being challenged in federal court by a group of voters living in both Pinellas and Hillsborough County who are represented by the ACLU of Florida and the Civil Rights & Racial Justice Clinic at New York University School of Law. They contend its design since 2022, including parts of St. Petersburg but moving across Tampa Bay into Hillsborough County, was the result of illegal racial gerrymandering.

During the trial, voters who live in Hillsborough County argued they weren’t being fairly represented because Rouson lives in St. Petersburg.

“I’ve done my level best to represent both sides of the Bay efficiently and effectively, and I think that I’ve done a pretty good job at that,” he said.

Three Democrats have already entered the race for House District 62: Kyandra Darling, Upton Fisher, and former state legislator Wengay Newton.

Darling addressed the rumors about Rouson’s potential entry into the race on Friday, issuing a statement on X saying, “I remain as committed to running and winning this race as I was on the day I declared my candidacy.” (That statement was first reported by Florida Politics).

Among the other topics Rouson discussed Friday were House Speaker Danny Perez’ memo to members calling for a select committee on redistricting congressional districts. Notably, Senate President Ben Albritton has yet to publicly comment about the idea.

“I think the Senate President is being very thoughtful and deliberate about his actions, and there’s no urgency to do this now,” Rouson said.

“We’ve got a lifetime between now and November, when we get back for committee weeks, and we should study what’s happening in Texas and in California and the other states like New York that are intending to do some things. We shouldn’t be knee-jerk reactors to what other states are doing. We need to do what’s good for Florida.”

Published reports indicate Florida Republicans are considering a redrawing of the congressional map that could net them three additional congressional seats. Rouson is skeptical. They already control 20 of Florida’s 28 congressional districts.

“I think that the GOP should tread very carefully, because if they try to stretch their advantage too thin, it could backfire in ways that they don’t foresee right now,” Rouson said.

“For example, if they diminish the margins for incumbent Republicans, thinking that they are safe, small shifts in the future could make districts competitive and give an advantage to the Democrats to gain more seats.”

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