Jones Congratulates Democrat Who Flipped State House Seat in Special Election

State Senator Shevrin Jones (D-FL) offered congratulatory remarks to State Representative-elect Tom Keen (D-FL) for his victory over Erika Booth (R) in the District 35 special election on Tuesday.

State Rep.-elect Keen flipped the seat from red to blue after former State Representative Fred Hawkins (R-FL) stepped down in order to become the president of South Florida State College, according to Newsweek.

Keen won by approximately 600 votes.

State Sen. Jones commended Keen as well as Florida Democratic Party (FDP) Chair Nikki Fried for their efforts in flipping the seat.

“I am thrilled to congratulate Tom Keen on his win in this competitive Central Florida seat,” said State Sen. Jones. “Throughout the race, Representative-elect Keen made clear the stakes and importance of our communities having a voice in the legislature on the issues impacting Floridians’ daily lives. I look forward to getting results for the people alongside him in Tallahassee.”

He continued by mentioning that the Florida Democratic Party has the opportunity to use this momentum moving forward.

“I also applaud FDP Chair Nikki Fried, House Leader Fentrice Driskell, and their teams’ leadership as they ensured Democrats across the state were plugged in and engaged in GOTV efforts. Florida Democrats are clearly enthusiastic and building upon this great win to ensure success in November 2024 and beyond,” said Jones.

Recently, the state senator accused Republicans in the state legislature of  “trolling” Vice President Kamala Harris (D) with a bill regarding the history of slavery.

Republicans in both chambers of the Florida Legislature introduced the Kamala Harris Truth in Slavery Teaching Act, bringing some controversy alongside it. State Senator Jones provided a statement, calling the bill an “aimless, desperate trolling of Vice President Harris.”

The legislation, introduced by State Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R-FL) and State Representative Kiyan Michael (R-FL) looks to require instruction on the history of African Americans to “include a comprehensive account of the sociopolitical circumstances surrounding slavery, including which political parties supported slavery by adopting pro-slavery tenets as part of their platform, etc.”

The Democratic Party supported slavery at that time.

State Sen. Jones declared that this bill is a display of “political games” in Tallahassee.

“Yet again, MAGA Republicans in Tallahassee are shamelessly playing political games as a means to distract from their lack of action and plans to address the challenges facing everyday Floridians,” said Jones. “It is disheartening, though unsurprising, to see them resort to aimless, desperate trolling of Vice President Harris –tactics familiar to women and people of color in public life– rather than focusing on the issues that are top of mind for the people they serve.”

Ingoglia and Michael’s bill was filed on Jan. 3.