Florida House District 34 incumbent Bob Brackett defeated challenger Paul Sohi in the Aug. 18 Republican primary, according to final but unofficial results.
Brackett had received 86% of the vote by 8 p.m. He now advances to the Nov. 3 general election to face Democrat Jordyn Guadalupe Balderas, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
District 34 includes all of Indian River County and stretches northeast along the coast of Brevard County.
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Brackett, 63, of Vero Beach, was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2022 and 2024.
His top three priorities in 2026 are property tax cuts and reform; lowering the cost of insurance for auto, home and health; and managing growth and transportation, he told TCPalm.
Brackett is the founder and a partner of Edge Information Management Inc. and chairman of the Brackett Family Foundation. He previously was managing partner of Credit Data Services, which was sold to Experian in 2005.
His experience set him apart, he said, citing four years in the Legislature and being a Vero Beach mayor and city councilman before that.
“I have more experience than anyone else as the incumbent, and I believe that is important for me to be able to lead this state on behalf of our communities,” he told TCPalm.
Who is Paul Sohi?
Sohi, 67, of Vero Beach, is a pediatric oral surgeon and pediatric dentist who served as an attending surgeon at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for 24 years. He has owned and operated dental practices in the Midwest.
His top three priorities were health care affordability and access; government transparency and accountability; and lowering the cost of living, he told TCPalm.
Sohi said he would have worked to improve the efficiency of public records requests while reducing costs to taxpayers.
“I am not a career politician,” he told TCPalm. “I have spent my life serving families, creating jobs, and helping people, not building a political career.”
Brackett’s general election challenger
Balderas, 21, of Vero Beach, is an overnight stocking associate at Walmart and a former treasurer and secretary of the Young Democrats of Indian River.
His priorities are protecting home rule, securing housing for local workers without fueling reckless growth, and restoring and protecting the Indian River Lagoon, he told TCPalm. He has criticized Brackett’s preemption bills that strip power from local governments.
Balderas left high school to care for family when they became homeless and is working on his GED.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Here’s who won Florida House District 34 Republican primary
Reporting by Jack Lemnus, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jack Lemnus, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
