- Ryan Chamberlin, a conservative author, won the special election for the unfilled seat representing House District 24 in Florida.
- Chamberlin secured victory after winning the GOP primary and facing only a write-in candidate in the general election.
- He campaigned on conservative values, including religious freedom and economic prosperity, and runs the True Patriot Network.
Ryan Chamberlin, a conservative author, speaker, and consultant, won the special election ordered by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday night for the unfilled seat representing House District 24, which encompasses all of Levy County and a portion of Marion County.
Facing only a write-in candidate — Robert Fox — in the general election, Chamberlin all but secured victory in the race after winning the GOP primary in March, defeating four other Republican candidates by 10 percentage points, including local businessman Jose Juarez, former Rep. Charlie Stone, physician Stephen Pyles, and Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner Justin Albright.
Chamberlin campaigned on a message of conservative values, emphasizing religious freedom, economic prosperity, and the America First agenda. Elected as a redshirt freshman, he will have the opportunity to serve in as many as 10 Regular Sessions before term limits kick in.
“I am honored to officially be elected to the Florida House of Representatives and proud to be serving Marion County,” he said following his win.
Chamberlin runs the True Patriot Network, a conservative social media and news platform supporting strong American values. Chamberlin will likely be the successor to former State Rep. Joe Harding, who won the election unopposed to a second House term in 2022 but resigned following federal charges of wire fraud and other crimes.
Harding resigned from the District 24 seat after pleading not guilty in December to the charges. But in a plea agreement filed in March, Harding admitted to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.
“In pleading guilty, the defendant acknowledges that were this case to go to trial, the government would present evidence to support the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” the agreement said.
According to a court document, Harding made “materially false statements” when he applied for a federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan for The Vak Shak Inc. in December 2020. Harding falsely claimed that the company had four employees and gross revenues of more than $420,000 for a year before submitting the application. The company did not have any business activity in 2019 or 2020, and “Harding knew that this business had been dormant during that time,” the court filing said.