Republican Greg Steube of Sarasota won the GOP nomination for the State Senate District 23 seat being vacated by Nancy Detert. It covers Sarasota and Charlotte Counties.
Sarasota Herald Tribune Political editor Zach Anderson spoke to WUSF about the race. He said Steube, whose father is Manatee County sheriff Brad Steube, won by a slim margin.
“He’s got family connections,” said Anderson. “His family goes back in this area. And his political network I think has helped him – his dad has obviously won office before up in Manatee County – but he has connections down in Sarasota as well and people early in the race were trying to position Steube or attack Steube as being from Manatee but Sarasota and Manatee are really kind of just one big metropolitan area.”
Anderson said State Senate District 23 is a seat long held by Republicans known for pushing back against other Republicans. Steube faces Democrat Frank Alcock in the November general election.