Two more enter race for South Brevard House seat currently held by Randy Fine

As the next election draws closer and a high profile seat in the Florida House of Representatives is slated to open without an incumbent, more candidates are filing to represent District 33 in next year's race. Erika Orriss, a Republican from South Patrick Shores, and Grover Bentley, a Palm Bay Libertarian, filed this past week in hopes of winning the seat currently held by Rep. Randy Fine, who can not seek re-election due to term limits.

The two join Democrat Anthony Yantz and Republicans Logan Luse and Chandler Langevin who filed to run earlier this year in a race that could feature a three-way Republican primary and a three-way general election to represent the South Brevard district.

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Erika Orriss, who has served as a Brevard Republican Executive Committee precinct committeewoman and captain, has lived in Brevard County for the past decade working as a licensed mental health professional after a previous career in software. She said she saw the problems facing the country and the state and wanted to help: "Put me to work."

"I'm certainly not a career politician. I've worked most of my life in business and software development and was focused on raising my family," she said. "What's going on our country is unacceptable even if we have a great governor. I can put my whole heart and soul into this."

Orriss emphasized her staunchly conservative values, as have her two Republican opponents. Although District 33 has some of the closest parity between parties in the county, Randy Fine was able to win each of his elections by wide margins, setting the stage for Republican advantage in the future.

Orriss said she wants to focus on issues like shoring up the education system, strengthening our economy, supporting law enforcement and election integrity. "Those are near and dear to my heart. We're not taking care of our teachers and law enforcement as we should be," she added.

Another first-time politician will be joining Orriss in the race. Libertarian Grover Bentley of Palm Bay is casting himself as a more moderate voice in an attempt to position himself above the fray of party politics.

Bentley said his children are what motivated him to run. "I see all the stuff that's happening in the world right now. I have to do more than just vote or I'm not really changing anything," he said.

Bentley, a U.S. Army combat veteran, is campaigning on smaller government, civil liberties and the health of the Indian River Lagoon. "Running as a libertarian and running as a moderate is how I can best serve because we don't need the extremist views," Bentley said. "A lot of Americans feel the same way. Let's do what's best for Americans and not what's best for the parties."

Although his views largely mirror his conservative counterparts, he has emphasized police accountability and "medical freedom" as points of distinction from those in the Republican party.

"I see rights being taken away from people for nothing other than political clout. People should be able to make medical choices for themselves. When I say that, I don't mean one specific issue, I mean a plethora of issues," Bentley said.

House District 33 includes much of South Brevard including parts of West Melbourne, Palm Bay and Malabar. Members of the Florida House receive a $29,697 annual salary and serve for two-year terms with a limit of four terms.

Fine is running for the Florida Senate District 19 seat, currently held by Debbie Mayfield who will be term-limited out. Fine will face Republican lawyer Robyn Hattaway in the primary.

Tyler Vazquez is the North Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Vazquez at 321-917-7491 or [email protected]. Twitter: @tyler_vazquez

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Two more join race for District 33 seat currently held by Randy Fine