Another Democrat has joined the race for the Florida House in District 48.
Alethea Pugh of Dundee has filed to run in hopes of challenging the incumbent, Rep. Jon Albert, R-Frostproof.
Albert, the former mayor of Frostproof, is seeking his second term in the district, which covers southeast Polk County, including Winter Haven, Lake Wales and Frostproof.
Pugh is the third Democrat to enter the race, though at least one of the others apparently has withdrawn. Luis Davila of Winter Haven filed to run in April 2025, but he is no longer listed as a candidate on the website of the Florida Division of Elections.
Matthew Crowley, a Democrat from Winter Haven, filed to run in March. A few weeks ago, Crowley posted on social media that he was suspending his campaign, but he continued to be listed as an active candidate as of May 29. It appears that the social media post has been deleted.
After an exchange of voicemails with a reporter, Crowley has not responded further to confirm whether he is withdrawing from the race.
Pugh served briefly on the Dundee Town Commission, receiving an appointment in December 2024 to replace Steve Glenn, who had vacated Seat 2 after leaving town for a new job, as The Ledger reported at the time.
Pugh held the seat through the next round of elections in April 2025, when challenger Annette Wilson defeated her, taking 61.6% of the vote.
In the April 2026 election, Pugh ran for Seat 3 but lost to Ray Hunt by 46 votes.
After Dundee commissioners voted 3-1 to appoint Pugh to the opening in December 2024, Town Commissioner Mary Richardson raised questions about her background.
Pugh ran for the Haines City Commission in 2010, narrowly failing in her bid to unseat incumbent Horace West.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested Pugh in 2011, accusing her of stealing $11,500 from the Haines City High School Athletics Booster Club, of which she was then president. Pugh agreed to a plea deal but was jailed in 2012 after failing to pay back the money to the Booster Club, The Ledger reported at the time.
Pugh did not respond by May 29 to a voicemail left the previous day.
The qualifying deadline for legislative races is June 12.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Former Dundee commissioner joins Florida House-48 race
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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