Amid the concluding pandemonium of Florida’s 2022 Legislative Session, two new lawmakers, Dr. Rosalind Osgood and Jervonte Edmonds, will make their way to Tallahassee to become the newest members of the Senate and House, respectively, following their wins in a set of special elections on Tuesday night.
The pair will occupy currently unfilled seats; Osgood will fulfill Sen. Perry Thurgood’s District 33 seat while Edmonds will take over Rep. Omari Hardy’s District 88 position. Thurgood and Hardy both relinquished their roles to pursue a run for federal positions in Washington, though both were unsuccessful.
“Congratulations to Dr. Rosalind Osgood on tonight’s overwhelming victory,” said Senate Leader Lauren Book.” A former Broward County School Board Member, Dr. Osgood is widely respected across Broward for her work in creating programs to offer new opportunities for students. We look forward to serving with Dr. Osgood and congratulate her again on a well-deserved win.”
Edmonds, a two-time former legislative aid, pulled in over 80 percent of the vote over Palm Beach County School District teacher Guarina Torres, cruising to victory with ease. Edmonds received endorsements from South Florida’s major publications, the Sun Sentinal and the Palm Beach Post, as well as the Professional Firefighters and Paramedics of Palm Beach County.
Osgood similarly pulled in just over 80 percent of submitted ballots, defeating teacher Joseph Carter.
The two political newcomers hail from fairly left-leaning districts and were heavy favorites leading up to last night’s elections. With the victory, Republicans still vastly outnumber Democrats in both chambers of Florida’s capital. The Senate will now hold a 24 to 16 majority in favor of the GOP while the House has favors the GOP by a margin of 78 to 42.
Due to the hectic state of the Legislative Session, sparring over the state budget and redistricting, the timeframe for the pair of politicians to be sworn in is unclear, though Edmonds hopes to be in Tallahassee in time to vote on bills.
“It’s still a little bit up in the air because this is a special election, and as you know the session ends in about two to three days,” Edmonds said to WPTV. “We’re hoping, pleading to all of our colleagues in the House that I can be sworn in and hopefully take a vote on the budget.”
“The Senate will now hold a 24 to 16 majority in favor of the GOP while the House has favors the GOP by a margin of 78 to 42.” Neither chamber is representative of Florida’s population. Democracy is dead in Florida.