Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, debates on the House floor (April 4, 2023). Credit: Sarah Gray via the Florida House of Representatives
Tuesday marked the day for two special primary elections relevant to our area, and the results of those two primary elections are in.

LaVon Bracy Davis, a Democratic representative in the GOP-controlled Florida House, won the Democratic nomination for the Florida Senate on Tuesday, securing nearly 43 percent of the vote in a four-way race for Senate District 15. The seat (reportedly “one of the remaining safe seats for Democrats,” per Politico) covers part of western Orange County, including parts of Orlando, Ocoee and Apopka.

A special election for SD 15 was set to replace the late Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a 76-year-old Democrat who unexpectedly passed away in February due to complications after knee surgery. Four Democratic candidates entered the running for the SD 15 race, including Bracy Davis, her brother Randolph Bracy (a former state senator), local attorney Coretta Anthony-Smith and former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson.

Meanwhile, Bracy Davis’s chief of staff RaShon Young won the Democratic nomination Tuesday to replace Bracy Davis in the Florida House, representing House District 40. That seat similarly covers parts of western Orange County. A special election was called for the seat after Bracy Davis submitted her formal resignation from the Florida House in order to run for state Senate. Her resignation will officially take effect Sept. 1, just a day ahead of the special general election that will seal her fate.

Young, who received Bracy Davis’s blessing to replace her in the Florida House, bested in the primary election Tuesday fellow Democratic candidate Travaris McCurdy, a former member of the Florida House. McCurdy, an Orlando native and Florida A&M University graduate, was elected to the Florida House for a single term in 2020 before losing the Democratic primary to Rep. Bruce Antone in 2022. He went on to launch an unsuccessful campaign for Orlando City Council District 5 last year, losing that race to sitting City Commissioner Shaniqua Rose.

Voter turnout in both primary elections Tuesday was predictably low, according to a state database of election results. According to the News Service of Florida, Florida House District 40 is home to 46,991 registered Democrats, 18,459 registered Republicans and another 24,268 voters are registered without party affiliation. Senate District 15, meanwhile, has 126,025 registered Democrats and 64,670 registered Republicans, with another 75,087 voters registered without party affiliation.

Here’s a full breakdown of Tuesday’s primary election results, as of early Wednesday morning:

House District 40

Winner: RaShon Young

Full breakdown:

  • Travaris McCurdy: 44.57 percent (2,246 votes)
  • RaShon Young: 55.43 percent (2,7893 votes)
Senate District 15

Winner: LaVon Bracy Davis

Full breakdown:

  • Coretta Anthony Smith: 28.31 percent (3,646 votes)
  • Randolph Bracy: 12 percent (1,548 votes)
  • LaVon Bracy Davis: 42.96 percent (5,533 votes)
  • Alan Grayson: 16.72 percent (2,153 votes)
Neither special election ends here, although both seats lean Democratic. As the winner of the HD 40 Democratic primary, Young will face off against Republican Tuan Le and write-in candidate Christopher Hall in a special general election scheduled for Sept. 2, 2025.

Bracy Davis, as the winner of the SD 15 Democratic Primary, will similarly face off against MAGA Republican Willie Montague in a special general election scheduled for the same day.

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This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2025.

General news reporter for Orlando Weekly, with a focus on state and local government and workers' rights. You can find her bylines in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, In These Times, and Facing South.