In an extreme case of sibling rivalry, a brother and sister are both running for the same Florida state Senate seat. The family duo is part of a longer legacy of politics and activism, but their competition has even their own mother choosing sides as part of an unusual multicandidate race.
As WESH 2 News reported, former Florida state Sen. Randolph Bracy and current state Rep. Lavon Bracy Davis are facing off against each other in the Democratic primary for District 15, which covers parts of Florida’s Orange County.
Davis siblings both entered the race to succeed late state senator
The two siblings are running in a special primary election for the seat formerly held by the late state Sen. Geraldine Thompson. Separately, a Democratic primary is being held for Bracy Davis’ current state House seat, in which her former chief of staff, Rashon Young, is running against former state Rep. Travaris McCurdy.
The competition between Davis and Bracy Davis appears to have put some strain on their relationship. Davis was the first of the siblings to declare his candidacy for the seat of the late senator, who died in February. When Bracy Davis later announced that she would also be running for the seat, her brother expressed his disappointment. “This is a sad day for the Bracy name. My sister choosing to run against me dishonors our father’s legacy in every way possible,” Bracy said in a statement to WESH. “I will not disparage our Father; who believed in this family, by debating my sister in any format,” he added. For her part, Bracy Davis said, “I love my brother, and I wish him well. I’ll be running for the people of Senate District 15,” per WESH. Concerning her public service, Bracy Davis has pledged, “I will not waver, I will not retreat, I will continue to fight with every ounce of my being to ensure that Florida works for us all.”
Two members of the politically active Davis family and other candidates square off
The two siblings come from a prominent and politically active family. Their mother, Lavon Wright Bracy, is a civil rights activist, while their late father, Randolph Bracy Jr., served as president of the local branch of the NAACP, in addition to directing the religion department of Bethune-Cookman University and founding an Orlando-area Baptist church. This is also not the first time that politics has divided the family. Lavon Wright Bracy was a close friend and supporter of the late Sen. Thompson. When Bracy previously ran against Thompson, his mother and Bracy Davis supported Thompson over him. Their mother is now backing Bracy Davis for this race.
The Davis siblings are two of four candidates in Tuesday’s primary race. Also running is Alan Grayson, who formerly served in the U.S. Congress. Grayson was elected to Congress in 2008, lost his reelection bid in 2010, but won again in 2012. He made headlines in 2009 during the congressional debate over health care by saying that the Republican health care policy was for people to “die quickly.” Coretta Anthony-Smith, a personal injury lawyer, is also running in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
Who will the winner face?
The winner will go against Republican candidate Willie Montague in September’s general election. The district is majority Democratic, and Black voters make up most of the registered Democrats.
For today, Orange County voters are heading to the polls to pick a Democratic candidate for the open state Senate seat in District 15. Today’s vote will determine who has a strong chance to represent the area in the Florida Senate, and the race will be the latest round in a rivalry that has divided a prominent area family, at least as far as politics are concerned.
