Democrat Darryl Block upsets Rachel Plakon for Florida House seat

Democrat Darryl Block has unseated incumbent Republican in the Florida House of Representatives Rachel Plakon. 

Block said the No. 1 priority in the Florida Legislature should be affordability issues, including property insurance reform. He said there should be “universal wind coverage,” and referenced an investigation by the Orlando Sentinel showing how Florida insurance companies moved billions of dollars in profits to other companies.

“In a way, the state got ripped off, and we got to figure out a way to claw some of that money back,” Block said. “That $3 billion that was taken from our tax dollars, that was really hurtful to all of us. While we’re all struggling, people got rich and carried the bags away.”

Plakon said she called Block and conceded early in the night. Plakon had filed a bill that would have given the Winter Springs mayor a vote, and potentially increased the mayor’s power. 

“I just think that people wanted to try a different path,” Plakon said. “That’s the, that’s the change they wanted, and that’s our American process.”

Abe Aboraya is a Report for America corps member