Former state Rep. Ralph Massullo’s[1] march to the Senate continues after an easy Republican Primary win over Anthony Brice.
Massullo won the Senate District 11 Primary with 78% of the vote. Brice didn’t top 22% in any of the four counties that comprise the district.
Massullo faces Democrat Ash Marwah[2], a civil engineer from The Villages, in a Dec. 9 Special General Election. The winner will succeed Blaise Ingoglia, who represented SD 11 before he was appointed Chief Financial Officer[3].
“I’m very pleased and honored to be selected as the Republican nominee for Senate District 11,” Massullo said. “My philosophy is never necessarily to beat my opponent, but to assure in the hearts and minds of the voters that I am the best person for the job — someone they can trust, someone that will have their ear, and someone that will work hard each and every day for their benefit and the benefit of the state in general.”
Voter turnout was light and ranged from 3% in Pasco County to 16% in Sumter County.
Though it’s an open seat, Massullo has run like an incumbent from the start. An eight-year House veteran who left office in 2024 due to term limits, Massullo racked up nearly $190,000 in campaign contributions and has endorsements from almost every big political name in the state.
Brice, meanwhile, didn’t campaign at all. The Inverness rancher lent his campaign $2,100 and paid the $1,781 ballot filing fee, but that’s it.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who blocked Massullo’s Senate bid in 2022 in favor of Ingoglia, backed Massullo in the Special Election, as did Ingoglia.
Other Ingoglia supporters include U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott, as well as 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].[4]
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[6] there in November, and Donald Trump carried the district by the same margin in 2024.
Marwah ran against Temple for HD 52 in 2024, taking just 28% of the vote.
References
- ^ Ralph Massullo’s (ralphmassullo.com)
- ^ Ash Marwah (ashforsd11.com)
- ^ Chief Financial Officer (myfloridacfo.com)
- ^ Florida Chamber of Commerce (www.flchamber.com)
- ^ Associated Industries of Florida (www.aif.com)
- ^ Ingoglia won 69% of the vote (floridapolitics.com)