Charges Dropped Against Carolina Amesty-CD 6 Draws 3 Republicans, 3 Dems

Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against former state Rep. Carolina Amesty, a Windermere Republican who faced allegations including forgery, according to a document posted on the Orange County clerk of court’s website.

The document, which indicated it was filed at 12:30 a.m. Sunday, did not detail reasons for prosecutors deciding to stop pursuing four charges against Amesty, who was indicted by a grand jury in August. The filing came a little more than a month after Amesty lost a re-election bid to Rep. Leonard Spencer, D-Gotha, in House District 45 in Orange and Osceola counties.

The state attorney in Orange and Osceola counties is Andrew Bain, who was appointed to the job last year after Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell. Worrell won back the job in the Nov. 5 election, though Bain will remain in the position until next month. Amesty was indicted on charges of forgery, uttering a forgery, false acknowledgment or certification by a notary public, and notarizing your own signature. She faced allegations related to her actions as administrator of the family-run Central Christian University in Orange County.

Florida CD 6 Draws 3 Republicans, 3 Democrats

Three Republicans and three Democrats have qualified to run in a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., with Brooksville Republican Ehsan Joarder, who ran unsuccessfully this year in another congressional district, rounding out the GOP field on Saturday. The other Republican candidates are Trump-backed state Sen. Randy Fine of Brevard County and Aaron Baker of Sorrento, according to the state Division of Elections website.

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Qualifying ended at noon Saturday for the Jan. 28 special primary elections and the April 1 special general election. Also qualified are Democrats Purvi Bangdiwala of Daytona Beach, George A. “Ges” Selmont of Elkton and Josh Weil of Orlando, Libertarian Andrew Parrott of Ocala and unaffiliated candidate Randall Terry of Arlington, Tenn. Qualifying started Friday for the special election, which was called after Waltz was tapped by President-elect Donal Trump to serve as national security adviser. District 6 is made up of all or parts of Flagler, Lake, Marion, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

Trump has backed Fine in the race. In August, Joarder finished third among four candidates seeking the Republican nomination in Congressional District 14 in the Tampa Bay area. U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., easily was re-elected in that district.

Candidates Emerge for Gottlieb Seat

With Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie, facing term limits in 2026, the first two candidates have emerged to run for his seat. Davie Democrat Michael Jay Friend and Southwest Ranches Republican Mery Lopez-Palma opened campaign accounts last week to run in 2026 in Broward County’s House District 102, according to the state Division of Elections website. Gottlieb was first elected to the House in 2018.

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