Teachers Union Leader Enters Crowded GOP Primary for Central Florida House Seat

Add another Republican candidate to the crowded primary field looking to replace term-limited Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka, in the Florida House. Belita "B" Martin Grassel, who had been the president of the Lake County Education Association teachers' union, filed her paperwork on Monday to run for the House seat which represents parts of Lake and Orange County. Grassel did not seek re-election to her position as president of the teachers' union earlier this year.

Grassel, who has had harsh words in the past for Gov. Rick Scotts education policies, faces a crowded Republican field which includes chiropractor Randy Glisson, whose father served a decade in the Legislature; realtor Betty Hensinger; Terri Seefeldt, a committeewoman on the Orange County Republican Executive Committee; and mortgage fraud investigator Joseph Stephens.