Seventh Candidate Files to Run for Bay County Florida House Seat

At the end of last week, a major candidate entered the increasingly crowded field battling for the Florida House seat currently held by Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, who faces term limits in 2014.

Thelma Rohan, who has been elected to the Bay County School Board and is a leader with the county GOP, filed her paperwork to run for the seat on Thursday, becoming the seventh candidate running for the House seat which represents parts of Bay County. There are four other Republicans also in the race: Panama City attorney and engineer Mark Anderson who teaches at Florida State; congressional staffer Tho Bishop; businesswoman Melissa Hagan who currently serves as Gulf Coast State Colleges director of development; and radio show host Brian Rust. Activist Ryan Singleton is facing Jamie Shepard, who had been the president of the Bay County League of Women Voters, for the Democratic nomination.