Born and raised Floridian Democrat Eunic Ortiz is running for election to the Florida State Senate in the 24th District.

Raised in Pinellas County by educators who served in the military, she wants to work in government and remains an adjunct professor at the University of Florida, teaching ethics and being a union organizer. 

Ortiz is running for office as she wishes to represent the community she grew up in. In addition, she wants to  speak for those who sit in the shadows with the concepts of affordable health care, housing, LGBTQ+ equality, workers’ rights, funding public education fully, environmental protections, criminal justice reform and protecting every Floridian’s right to vote. 

As it says in the books, if elected, she will be the second Hispanic elected official in Pinellas County and the first openly lesbian state senator in Florida’s history.

“Pinellas County is at a critical moment that will define the region for generations to come. For too long, leaders in Tallahassee have been out of touch with the needs of everyday Floridians, such as affordable housing, protecting our waterways and smart business growth,” the campaign page said.

Ortiz has said that she knows what it means to bring people of all walks of life together to find a common understanding and a shared journey to improve communities.

She has devoted her career to improving Florida for the last 15 years. Her more than a dozen years of devotion has evolved to Ortiz running for office this year for the first time. 

To look at Ortiz’s past, she has led and won campaigns across the state of Florida that focus on the topics that sit in the shadows and passed Amendment 2 – the ballot initiative in Florida that raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Currently, on record, 11 state legislators in Florida are for Senate District 24 candidate Ortiz.

“The Florida Senate needs more leaders who will work towards finding solutions to meet the diverse needs of communities across our great state,” said Victor Torres, Orange County Democrat, in a statement.

To turn to the past before her campaign, she was a national political communications director at SEIU and led the campaign team. Currently, she serves on the Tampa Bay Workforce Development Committee. 

Former state representatives have thrown their hat in support of Ortiz, as well. 

“Eunic Ortiz is the right leader to progress this community and our state forward in a new and equitable way,” Former state Rep. Joe Saunders said in a statement.