Punta Gorda CEO Vanessa Oliver has defeated North Fort Myers food safety manager Steven Ceracche in the race for the 76th District seat in the Florida House of Representatives. After securing the Republican nomination in the Tuesday, August 20 primary, Oliver will now face Democrat Jim Blue in the Florida general election on Tuesday, November 5.
The winner of November will fill the seat in the Florida House of Representatives currently held by Republican Spencer Roach, who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race in April.
With 99 percent of the votes counted, Oliver had 71.7 percent of the vote in Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, according to Florida polling data as of 10 p.m. Tuesday. That percentage equates to 13,340 votes.
“I am so honored by the overwhelming support for my campaign for the 76th Congressional District in the Republican primary tonight,” Oliver said via text message Tuesday night. “I appreciate the voters’ trust in my vision and commitment to lowering property insurance rates, keeping our waterways clean and ensuring Florida continues to be the best state to raise a family, build a business or retire.”
District 76 covers parts of Lee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, including Arcadia, North Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Both Babcock Ranch and Herons Glen Golf and Country Club are part of the district. The new district was approved by the Florida Supreme Court on March 3, 2022.
The compensation for a seat in the House of Representatives is $18,000 per year for the two-year term, plus a per diem allowance.
More about Republican Vanessa Oliver
Oliver, 43, of Punta Gorda serves as CEO of Ambitrans Ambulance, which provides medical transportation between facilities in five counties. She is also an attorney and health law specialist.
“I want to see our region and our state prosper so that we can build multigenerational communities,” she said in an interview with The News-Press on June 21, “so that our retirees can enjoy their retirement, our graduates can build successful careers and our children can attend good schools.”“
Oliver has spent almost her entire life in the 76th District and says it is important to have “leaders who believe in the conservative principles that make Florida the envy of the nation.”
“I have a vested interest in helping our community thrive,” she said in an interview with The News-Press on July 25. “It’s critical to me that we have a strong economy, clean water, affordable insurance, good schools and a low cost of living because I want my children to come back here when they grow up.”
Oliver says their three main problems are:
- Establishment of a Task Force to Combat Insurance Fraud to “eliminate corruption and reduce insurance premiums”
- Ensuring that state and local law enforcement agencies “can do their jobs, deport illegal immigrants and secure the border.”
- And we fight inflation through tax cuts, fee reductions and permanent tax exemptions.
Read more: Questions and answers with Vanessa Oliver of Punta Gorda, candidate for the 76th Congressional District of the House of Representatives
More about Democrat Jim Blue
Blue, now retired, previously worked for 44 years as a TV news director and anchor, most of that time in Toledo, Ohio. He says he wants to devote his time to “solving the problems facing Florida and, in particular, the 76th House District.”
“Tallahassee lawmakers have been distracted by issues like wokeness and drag queens,” Blue said in an interview with The News-Press on June 21. “They have ignored important issues like the insurance crisis, affordable housing and the environment. I want to change the focus.”
Blue 72 from Punta Gorda sees himself as someone who unites Tallahassee.
“I will work across the party lines to find a bipartisan solution that will ease reinsurance requirements and attract more insurance companies to Florida,” he said. “I will also work with our lawmakers in Washington to create a national solution that spreads the risk.”
Blue says his main topics are:
- Affordable insurance,
- Restoring reproductive freedom,
- And protecting local power by stopping “Tallahassee’s encroachments” and restoring “self-government.”
Read more about Jim Blue: Meet the candidates for District 76 (Arcadia, Punta Gorda, N. Fort Myers)
Learn more about the two candidates for Florida House of Representatives District 76.
Here’s more about Oliver and Blue, their experiences, and their top priorities if elected to the Florida House of Representatives:
Jim Blue: jimblue.com.
Vanessa Oliver: tinyurl.com/jyyty775
— Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. Reach him at 239-335-0368 (call the venue for show tickets) or email at [email protected].
Follow him on social media or send him a message: Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), X (formerly Twitter) (@charlesrunnells), Threads (@crunnells1) and Instagram (@crunnells1).
