Perfectly odd time to cast ballots

Hey it’s Thursday, so let’s talk about the odd-year election.

See, elections come in two seasons: Even-numbered years and odd years.

I’ve always believed they should be separate. Never a fan of having even-year election discussions during the odd year. It’s like talking about work while on vacation. We deserve a break from elections, and that breathing time comes in odd-numbered years.

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Over time, I’ve relinquished some of that. Even local elections have become costly and lengthy, so we’re coming around to the time of year that we should start hearing names for the 2026 ballot.

On rare occasions, we have the odd-year election. Extremely rare. Hasn’t happened around here for 18 years.

We have one this year. The Republican primary for the special Senate District 11 race is Tuesday with Anthony Brice and Ralph Massullo on the ballot. Because there’s a Democrat in the race, Ash Marwah, the special general election is Dec. 9. Our new Senator will be in office for the 2026 Session.

Early voting and vote-by-mail is underway. I checked the elections website on Wednesday and voter turnout so far is about 9.5% (it’s 2.6% in Hernando County), meaning only the heartiest of Republican voters will show up for this one.

Who can blame them? State Senate isn’t on our radar. This seat is shared by four counties — Citrus, Hernando, Sumter, and part of Pasco. Unless you have a super-effective Senator such as Wilton Simpson, or a loud, boisterous one such as Blaise Ingoglia, the Senate doesn’t come up all that often in the coffee shop chats.

And it’s Ralph Massullo’s election to lose. He served six years in the House and then was kept from running for Senate the normal way by the governor. Massullo easily won re-election to final term in the House and then bided his time for the next Senate opportunity.

Massullo is no political lightweight. He knows Ingoglia (former senator, now CFO) is tight with Gov. Ron DeSantis, and there was always a chance the governor would move his friend higher up the political ladder, which he did.

Massullo is considered an “establishment” candidate. Most major political names in the state, including DeSantis and Massullo, endorsed Massullo. He’s collected over $100,000 (reports are due Friday, so that amount is probably going up).

(He also has some Citrus County baggage from his medical practice that came up during the 2022 campaign, and a few people are still talking about it this go-around. Didn’t hurt him then; it likely won’t hurt him now.)

Because Massullo is tied to Tallahassee, his opponent will get votes just for showing up. Which is about all Anthony Brice is doing. He’s the other candidate on the Republican ballot. Brice is an Inverness rancher and military veteran. And he’s anti-establishment, which candidates use as an euphemism for “we the people.”

The idea being that established candidates are too entrenched in the government process and have forgotten the folks back home. Well, as we’ve learned from the Janet Barek example, defeating an incumbent means electing someone else. It doesn’t always turn out well.

Brice does have one interesting campaign approach: the Elect Anthony Brice song. It’s actually quite charming, more than a little corny, and it might get him a vote or two.

The last time we danced this odd-year twist was 2007, with open Senate and House seats at the same time. Both of those races garnered plenty of candidates, with voter turnout in the 20% range. The result: Sen. Charlie Dean and Rep. Ron Schultz; both were re-elected in the regular election the following year.

Whoever wins in December has to start the re-election campaign right away, as SD 11 will be on the 2026 ballot to finish out the term.

Republicans, cast your primary ballot!

That’s it for Thursday. Have a great one, friends.

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