A political newcomer who says he’s turned his life around after a long history of driving offenses and a candidate making his third attempt at office are both hoping to become the Democrat who flips a Florida House seat blue after GOP state Rep. Paula Stark failed to qualify for the election.
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Stark has represented Florida House District 47 since 2022. But she unexpectedly didn’t make the ballot at the last minute because of missing candidate paperwork.
No other Republican or independent candidate was in the race, handing Democrats an easy win in a district which covers a sliver of Orange County and a chunk of Osceola County, including Buenaventura Lakes and St. Cloud.
The winner of the Aug. 18 primary between Democrats Anthony Nieves and Jorge Figueroa will become the district’s new representative. All voters, regardless of party, will be eligible to vote.
Nieves, a 51-year-old former state financial crimes investigator and local corrections officer, is making another run for the seat. He won a three-way primary before narrowly losing to Stark in 2022 by less than 2% of the vote, and came in last in another three-way primary in 2024.
He is currently a full-time caregiver to his 12-year-old son, who is nonverbal and on the autism spectrum. He described the lack of resources for disabled children in Florida as a major reason he entered politics.
Figueroa, a 50-year-old business owner, is making his first run for office. Figueroa says he previously served on the Osceola County Housing Finance Authority and as President of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.
The candidates have much in common. Both are Puerto Rican, Christian, live in Kissimmee, are fathers to young children and have focused their campaigns on addressing Florida’s affordability crisis. But they have butted heads over Figueroa’s past.
Figueroa was sentenced to 50 days in jail for driving under the influence in Wisconsin in 2006 and received an infraction for publicly drinking alcohol in Wekiwa Springs State Park in 2015. He has also received nearly 25 traffic tickets in the past dozen years and as recently as 2025, including for speeding in a school zone and multiple failures to stop at red lights.
He has said he has changed since then, in part through his renewed Christian faith, and that attempts to focus on it are a distraction from real issues.
“I have learned from my mistakes. I have been given the opportunity to be redeemed. I met God since then,” he said. “Those things and those mistakes have to happen for me to be the person that I am today … my message is that everybody makes mistakes.”
As for his more recent traffic violations, Figueroa said he is learning to pay more attention to his surroundings. However, Nieves said he believes Figueroa has shown a clear pattern that may continue if his opponent is elected.
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“Six, seven times, fine. But when it starts getting to a point that you’re starting to see 10, 15…you have to question that,” Nieves said. “When does this person learn that this can cause serious injury to self, family, community and also the reputation … as an elected official for House District 47?”
Figueroa’s past is not the only point of contention between the candidates.
During a televised debate between the candidates hosted by WESH 2 News, Figueroa said Nieves had previously called himself a communist, which Nieves denied. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Nieves described himself as left of center and said he supports universal healthcare.
Figueroa said that policy is unrealistic, although he supports expanding Medicaid access in Florida. He said he is confident his probusiness platform and Christian values will endear him with Republicans.
“We want to thrive in this nation. We want security. We want a good education. And we want to live the American Dream, and I think those are values that can be shared across the aisle,” he said.
Nieves rejects a moderate approach to politics, a path which he said has “gone sour.” He sees a recent surge of other left-of-center Democrats across the country as proof a new approach can work, even with Republicans.
“We have Democrats and Republicans here in 47 that are tired of the insider politics, tired of the dark money,” he said. “We’re tired of money being spent on wars.”
Nieves also said he has been endorsed by St. Cloud’s Republican mayor, Chris Robertson.
Figueroa says he will increase workforce housing, reform Florida’s property insurance market, expand workforce training and support small businesses that create good-paying jobs.
Nieves is hoping to expand affordable housing, establish stronger protections for renters, increase accountability for the insurance industry and stop corporations from buying up neighborhoods at the expense of families getting pushed out.
Both also support giving teachers a raise.
Figueroa has raised $28,000. Nieves has raised $8,373 and loaned himself $14,000, according to their latest campaign finance reports.
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