With less than a week until the qualifying deadline on June 12, twenty-five Florida House district races have no challenger from one of the two major political parties. While most of these uncontested seats are in strongly partisan districts where a challenge would be unlikely to succeed, five races stand out as genuinely competitive. These five districts, which include two Republican-held seats and three Democratic-held seats, have voter margins narrow enough that the lack of opposition from the other party raises serious questions about campaign strategy and resource allocation.
The five competitive uncontested districts are scattered across Florida. House District 12 in Jacksonville, which favored Trump by 10 points in 2024, has only Republican Terrance Freeman running to succeed term-limited Representative Wyman Duggan. House District 44 in Orange County is a solidly Democratic district where Rita Harris is running unopposed for her third term, having won reelection in 2024 with 65 percent of the vote. House District 60 in Pinellas County covers parts of St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park and leans Democratic by 7 points. After incumbent Lindsay Cross announced her retirement, lawyer Lindsay Polega-Quigley filed to run and currently faces no opposition. House District 89 in Palm Beach County represents the closest race, with a Democratic lean of just 1 point. Democratic Representative Debra Tendrich won the seat in 2024 by only 2 points and is running unopposed. House District 87 in Jupiter, which Democrat Emily Gregory flipped in a March upset, remains an important race as both parties assess their November prospects.
The Florida Democratic Party responded to questions about the unchallenged races by emphasizing their investment in year-round organizing and candidate recruitment. The party said over 1,300 Democrats have expressed interest in running over the past eighteen months. Republican Party of Florida Chair Evan Power expressed confidence that his party would expand its legislative supermajority, stating that "Floridians have rejected the radical left agenda" and that the Republican Party would "field quality candidates across Florida that will drive us to big victories."
Analysis by Matt Isbell of MCI Maps, based on 2024 presidential voting data, shows these competitive districts have voter divisions that suggest both parties could potentially mount successful campaigns. The August 18 primary election will be followed by the November general election. The qualifying deadline is June 12.