Republican Eric Eisnaugle easily won a special election Tuesday in District 44, beating Democratic Shaun Raja, 74 percent to 26 percent.
First elected to the Florida House in 2008, Eisnaugle stepped aside after he ended up in the same district with Rep. Steve Precourt, following redistricting in 2012.
In January, Precourt resigned to pursue a job leading the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, opening up District 44 to a special election.
District 44 covers parts of west and southwest Orange County.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Joe Kilsheimer defeated 93-year-old Apopka Mayor John Land in a run-off election yesterday. Kilsheimer received 54.5 percent of the vote to Land’s 45.5 percent. In March, neither candidate obtained 50 percent of the votes cast to avoid Tuesday’s run-off.
Land, who has been in office since 1949, except for a three-year period said, he was disappointed that he didn’t get the love and support from voters to win, according to news reports.
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