The independent voice for West Orange County news
Updated Jan. 15, 2025
Florida's 2025 legislative session has yet to be gaveled in, but Erin Huntley, now in her second term as chair of the Orange County Republican Party, is not wasting time ramping up for the 2026 election. Tuesday, she announced she is running for House District 45, the seat held by newly elected Democrat Rep. Leonard Spencer of Gotha.
Spencer unseated Republican Carolina Amesty who was under indictment for felony forgery. Those charges were dropped in December.
"The point of getting in early is to make sure that I have an opportunity to showcase my platform and what I'm running for," Huntley told VoxPopuli in a Wednesday phone interview. "When I'm first out of the gate, it's a little bit easier than if there's other candidates. We want to flip this seat, and we've looked at it in multiple different ways. And I feel like the more time that's on our side, we'll be able to garner more community support and win it back."
Huntley, 44, noted in her announcement that she is "not a politician" and that her professional background has been in the private sector where she’s worked at Walt Disney, Jet Blue and DECA Inc. But recently, the Windermere mom of three was one of the state electors —and the only one from Orange County — who officially cast Florida's 30 Electoral College votes for Donald Trump. She also served as an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.
Huntley’s campaign, according to her announcement, will focus on “preserving Florida’s freedoms, enhancing education through school choice and literacy programs, commitment to public safety and ensuring fiscal responsibility while fostering economic opportunities for District 45’s residents.”
In her statement, Huntley said she was running to be a "voice for the families of House District 45.”
"I feel like I bring a great perspective as a wife and a mom and a business woman to this seat," she said in her interview. "I know the district really well. I've watched it go through redistricting and then it was won by DeSantis by over six points in 2022. It was won by Donald Trump by almost a point. It's the only seat in the Florida House that's represented by a Democrat that was won by Donald Trump. So I intend to flip this seat back, and I'll work tirelessly over the next two years to get there."
The Orange County Democratic Party response to Huntley’s entry into the 2026 race was swift. Party chair Samuel Vilchez Santiago sent out a statement that said, “Erin Huntley’s values are no different from Carolina Amesty’s.”
Santiago said Huntley’s support for Florida’s six-week abortion ban, backing Moms for Liberty-aligned candidates and standing with Amesty during her criminal investigations showed she was “too extreme for HD 45.”
VoxPopuli asked Huntley if she supported Amendment 4 — which would have protected the right to abortion through viability (around 24 weeks gestation) and was supported by 57 percent of Floridians. The amendment didn't pass because the threshold was 60 percent.
Huntley responded, "Amendment 4 was opposed by the Republican Party of Florida as well as the Orange County Republican Party and the governor, and that's where we align as a party. And I'm running to represent the Republican Party."
