FL-HD45: GOP support for indicted Rep. Amesty (R) may be waning in tight Orlando-area race

Former Disney executive and political newcomer Leonard Spencer is challenging state Rep. Carolina Amesty, a former up-and-comer facing criminal charges, to represent a swing district that went for Joe Biden four years ago.

It’s a high-profile matchup, for one of several posts in Central Florida where Democrats are hoping to chip away at Republican dominance in Tallahassee.

Amesty, a first-term Republican house member, is coming off an indictment on four felony charges related to the alleged forgery of a man’s signature on an employment form she notarized as an administrator for her family’s small school. Two years ago, her campaign made a splash as Amesty loaned $200,000 to her own war chest, drew an endorsement from Donald Trump Jr. and touted her experience as a vice president for Central Christian University and an entrepreneur who ran a successful chicken restaurant.

Winning a district that President Joe Biden carried by 5.5 percentage points in 2020 helped give Amesty, 29, rising-star status in the GOP, and she was even mentioned as a potential future House speaker.




https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/10/19/gop-support-for-indicted-rep-amesty-may-be-waning-in-tight-orlando-area-race/