House Seat 61: Having raised more than $533,000 and with more than $181,000 on hand at the end of July, Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, is a solid favorite to win another term. Weatherford, who represents parts of Hillsborough and Pasco counties, is in line to be speaker in 2013 and 2014. He should be able to brush aside Republican primary challenger Kevin Wright with ease. Democratic nominee Coast Guard veteran Elena McCullough is a solid candidate but with $15,000 in the bank at the end of July, she needs to get cracking on fund-raising.
House Seat 62: Representing parts of Hillsborough and Pasco counties, Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, is the only candidate in the race and will be heading back to Tallahassee for another two years.
House Seat 63: Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, will be representing parts of Hillsborough and Polk counties for another two years. He is the only candidate running for this House seat.
House Seat 64: Despite having raised less than $25,000, Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, should be in solid shape to win another term. While Stargel, who represents parts of Polk County, had under $18,000 cash on hand at the end of July, she should not need much to get by Democratic candidate Carol Castagnero, a retired teacher. Castagnero had less than $1,000 in the bank at the end of July. Stargel can be considered a heavy favorite for another term.
House Seat 65: Representing parts of Polk County, Rep. John Wood, R-Haines City, has lagged behind most of his Republican colleagues in fund-raising. At the end of July, Wood had raised more than $44,000 but had around $35,000 on hand. It should be enough to hold off Joshua Davis, an independent candidate who spent almost every penny of the almost $1,500 he brought in. With no Democrat in the race, it appears that Wood is heading back to Tallahassee.
