Republican Greg Pull files to run against Orlando Democrat Anna Eskamani for Florida House

Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, a progressive who’s known as something of a firebrand in the state Legislature, has gained a Republican opponent in her race for re-election to the Florida House this fall.

Republican Gregory Pull, a real estate broker by trade, filed to run against Eskamani for the Democratic-leaning District 42 seat one day ahead of the filing deadline.

When reached by phone Thursday, Pull politely declined to comment on his campaign “at this juncture,” but said he will have more to share with Orlando Weekly in the future.

Incumbent Democrat Anna Eskamani, who was first elected to the Florida House in 2018, told Orlando Weekly she feels “very confident” she will continue to earn the support of her constituents, in a district that stretches from Eatonville to Belle Isle. The plan, she said, is just to “keep moving forward.”

“We’ve been knocking on doors since last year, connecting with our constituents,” said Eskamani. “We’ve already knocked on thousands of doors across the district, and you know, we’ll continue to champion everyday issues, from property insurance to cost of living to, of course, defending our freedoms.”

Although Democrats, as the minority party in the state Legislature, wield little power to pass legislation they champion without Republican support, Eskamani has in recent years nonetheless sought to advance legislation to strengthen tenants’ rights in Florida, expand worker protections, and close corporate tax loopholes that serve to benefit the wealthy over Florida’s middle- and working-class families.

She’s also prominently opposed restrictions on abortion access, efforts to wipe out tenant protections, and legislation passed in recent years that targets the LGBTQ+ community and labor unions.

Eskamani told us she qualified for the ballot this November by petition, a process that required gathering at least 1,319 petitions from constituents of her district that support her appearing on the 2024 ballot. The number of petitions needed to qualify by petition varies by district.

State records show that Pull, on the other hand, has opted to pay a qualifying fee to appear on the ballot, according to state records.

While Pull declined to share more about his campaign, his platform or his priorities with Orlando Weekly on Thursday, campaign finance records show Pull has previously donated to Republican candidates who have run against Eskamani in the past.

Pull, for instance, contributed $192.12 to the campaign of Bonnie Jackson, Eskamani’s Republican opponent in the 2022 General Election, according to records with the state Division of Elections Office. Pull also contributed $200 to David Dwyer, Jackson’s opponent in the 2022 primary, who ultimately lost to Jackson by a margin of about 1,000 votes.

Republican Jeremy Sisson, who ran against Eskamani in 2020, received a $50 contribution from Pull, all in all demonstrating rather conservative spending habits.

Eskamani believes Pull has been handpicked by the Republican Party to run for office in a bid to kick her out of the state Legislature. Eskamani is one of the most outspoken Democrats in either the Florida House or Senate, while also someone who has demonstrated an ability to work across the aisle with GOP legislators to address less politically-charged issues such as youth homelessness.

Another curious detail that leads Eskamani to believe that Pull was recruited by the GOP is his campaign treasurer, Noreen Fenner.

Fenner, who’s based in Tallahassee, is listed as campaign treasurer for dozens of active and inactive political action committees, including Conservatives for Principled Leadership, an active PAC affiliated with House speaker Paul Renner, and the Future Florida PAC, affiliated with Florida’s Agricultural commissioner and former State Senate president Wilton Simpson.

“He [Pull] was recruited by the special interests in Tallahassee,” Eskamani contends.

Pull, whose listed address is located in the Milk District, is a realtor and residential property manager for Simplicity: A Real Estate Brokerage Company, based in Winter Park.

His LinkedIn page describes Pull as a “Sales Professional offering strong interpersonal skills, proven leadership talent and impactful communication skills to achieve results with passion and commitment to excellence.” Pull’s personal Facebook page shows he follows the Republican Party of Florida, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, and NewsMax, among other local community and business pages.

Florida House District 42 is a Democratic-leaning district that had 124,847 active registered voters as of Feb. 20, including 48,600 registered Democrats and 39,947 registered Republicans. The rest are registered as No Party Affiliated or registered with a separate party such as the Green Party or Independent Party.

Eskamani was first elected to her Orlando-area seat (then District 47, before the 2022 redistricting process took place) in 2018, with 57 percent of the vote. The Democrat won re-election in 2020 with 59 percent of the vote and earned 56 percent of the vote in 2022.

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This article appears in Jun 12-18, 2024.