Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-47) announced on Thursday she is not running for governor and will run for reelection in her state house district.
Eskamani’s name had been thrown around as a potential challenger to Governor Ron DeSantis, and she did consider launching a bid, but opted to seek reelection.
“Florida needs strong Democrats in the State Legislature to fight for the needs of everyday people and I’m damn proud to be one of them,” Eskamani said. “That’s why after a lot of community conversations and self-reflection I’m running for re-election to continue serving my hometown in the Florida House.”
Eskamani has become known for her brand of progressive politics and occupying the progressive wing of the Florida House. She works as a state strategic advisor and is a product of Orange County. She attended Orange County public schools and went on to graduate from the University of Central Florida for her undergraduate and graduate work.
One of the reasons for her deciding to seek reelection was after her “battle of a lifetime” in this year’s legislative session.
“I think it’s really important to make a decision that is in the best interests of my community and the state to put people over my ambition,” Eskamani said. “And when I look at the state of Florida as a whole, we have a lot of work to do.”
She is not ruling out a future gubernatorial bid, but she feels she has more work to do in her current position.
“Politics has a lot of queen bees with not enough worker bees, and I’m a worker bee,” Eskamani said. “I want to do the work. I want to make sure that we’re empowering everyday people to know their efficacy, and to get involved and to run for office themselves.”
Eskamani is the daughter of Iranian immigrants who, she says, worked tirelessly and made sacrifices so she and her siblings could have the American dream.
So far, U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-13) is the only major Democratic challenger to DeSantis, but other names like Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-10) are considered potential candidates.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Representative Anna V. Eskamani” by Representative Anna V. Eskamani.
