Blaise Ingoglia’s appointment as CFO created the opening.
The road to Senate District 11 starts with Tuesday’s Republican Primary, where former state Rep. Ralph Massullo[1] has a sizable financial lead over his lone opponent.
Massullo, a Lecanto dermatologist, faces Inverness rancher Anthony Brice[2]. The winner compete against Democrat Ash Marwah[3] in the Dec. 9 Special General Election.
Early voter turnout was sparse, as is often the case in Special Elections. Citrus County,[4] where both candidates reside, was at 11%. Hernando County was on the low end, around 4%.
The two candidates could not have run more diverse campaigns.
Massullo served eight years in the House, leaving due to term limits in 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis thwarted Massullo’s plans for a SD 11 run in 2022 by backing then-state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia for the seat. Ingoglia won, was re-elected in 2024. DeSantis then appointed him as Chief Financial Officer earlier this year.
That created the opening for Massullo. He jumped in with a host of big-name endorsements, including DeSantis and Ingoglia.
Other Massullo backers include U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Randy Fine, Mike Haridopolos and Daniel Webster, state Reps. JJ Grow, Jeff Holcomb and John Temple, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, the Sheriffs of Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Industries of Florida.[5]
Massullo also has significant financial support[6]. He has collected $189,925, and spent less than half. Contributors from the most recent report include Senate President Ben Albritton, state Sen. Ed Hooper, Citrus County School Board member Ken Frink[7], and Citrus County Property Appraiser Cregg Dalton[8].
Brice, meanwhile, conducted no fundraising. A lone $2,100 contribution came from the candidate, and his only listed expenditure is the ballot qualifying fee.
Brice, who said he didn’t have time for an interview, has a campaign theme song[9].
Senate District 11 covers all of Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties, plus a portion of northern Pasco County. It is safely Republican — Ingoglia won 69% of the vote there in November, and Donald Trump carried the district by the same margin in 2024 — making the GOP Primary the likely decisive contest.
References
- ^ Ralph Massullo (ralphmassullo.com)
- ^ Anthony Brice (www.anthonybrice.com)
- ^ Ash Marwah (ashforsd11.com)
- ^ Citrus County, (www.votecitrus.gov)
- ^ Florida Chamber of Commerce (www.flchamber.com)
- ^ financial support (dos.elections.myflorida.com)
- ^ Ken Frink (www.citrusschools.org)
- ^ Cregg Dalton (www.citruspa.org)
- ^ campaign theme song (www.youtube.com)