Rep. Erika Booth is starting 2026 with a sizable financial edge in one of the most closely watched House races in the state.
Campaign finance reports show the St. Cloud Republican closed 2025 with $111,752 raised in her campaign account and an additional $98,971 on hand in Booth PAC for an overall total of $192,119 on hand.
Booth’s lone challenger so far, Eric Gray, is starting the year with significantly fewer resources. Gray, a Democrat, entered the House race in October after previously running for Orange County Commission. He showed $15,860 raised in his first reporting period and spent $11,957, leaving him with less than $4,000 on hand at the end of the 2025.
Republican leaders have already signaled HD 35 remains a priority district this cycle. Booth is expected to receive full support from House Speaker-designate Sam Garrison and the Florida House Republican Campaign Committee, the primary campaign arm for state House Republicans.
Before her election to the House, Booth spent more than 20 years working as an elementary school teacher and previously served on the Osceola County School Board.
Gray has spent decades leading nonprofit organizations in Orange County and has cited opposition to HB 1365, a 2024 homelessness-related measure sponsored by Garrison, as a central motivation for his campaign.
HD 35 covers parts of Orange and Osceola counties. According to the most recent L2 voter data, the district is home to 42,837 Republicans and 41,806 Democrats as well as 48,995 third- and no-party voters.
The incumbent won the seat in 2024, defeating Democrat Tom Keen 52%-48% in a rematch after Keen prevailed in a 2023 Special Election. At the top of the ticket, Donald Trump carried the district with 52% in 2024, while Gov. Ron DeSantis won it with 56% two years earlier.
