Maitland Mayor John Lowndes enters race for Florida Senate District 10 to unseat Jason Brodeur
ORLANDO, Fla. - A longtime Central Florida mayor is entering the race for a state Senate seat representing parts of Orange and Seminole counties.
The filing sets up a potential general election matchup against an incumbent Republican senator, though a Democratic primary contest remains ahead.
What we know:
Maitland Mayor John Lowndes, a Democrat, filed Monday to run for Florida Senate District 10, launching a campaign to unseat incumbent Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Republican from Sanford.
Lowndes has served as mayor of Maitland since 2021. The city, located just north of Orlando, has a population of about 20,000 residents.
Before becoming mayor, Lowndes worked as an environmental and land-use attorney and served in the Orange County Attorney’s Office. He also represented Native American tribal governments in Washington, D.C., and Alaska before returning to Central Florida. He later served on the Maitland City Council.
If elected, Lowndes would represent a district that includes all of Seminole County and portions of northern Orange County, including Maitland and Winter Park.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear who will emerge as the Democratic nominee for the seat. Another Democrat, Alexander Duncan, has also filed to run for Senate District 10.
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The race is still in its early stages, and candidates have not yet released detailed campaign platforms outlining how they would address issues such as housing affordability, insurance costs or economic development.
Voters also have not yet seen fundraising totals, endorsements or polling that could provide insight into the competitiveness of the contest.
The backstory:
The Senate District 10 seat is currently held by Brodeur, a veteran state lawmaker who was elected to the Florida Senate in 2020.
Before joining the Senate, Brodeur served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018.
Lowndes enters the race with experience in local government and municipal leadership, while Brodeur brings more than a decade of experience in the state Legislature.
The district has grown in political importance as Central Florida continues to add residents and faces challenges related to housing, infrastructure and rising living costs.
Local perspective:
Lowndes said his campaign will focus on affordability issues affecting Central Florida residents, including insurance premiums, housing costs, healthcare expenses and utility bills.
The district includes a mix of suburban communities in Seminole and Orange counties, where voters have increasingly focused on quality-of-life concerns, growth management and the cost of living.
As the campaign develops, candidates are expected to compete over how best to address those issues while representing one of the fastest-growing regions in the state.
What they're saying:
"Working families and seniors are struggling with rising insurance premiums, housing costs, grocery bills, healthcare expenses, and utility rates while politicians in Tallahassee pick partisan political fights instead of finding practical solutions," Lowndes said in a statement announcing his candidacy.
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"I’m running to bring a more balanced, thoughtful approach on behalf of our community focused on solving problems and lowering costs for the people of Central Florida," he added.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the News Service of Florida.