South Tampa attorney Dana Young won a straw poll at a Tampa Republican Club meeting after a debate pitting her against Todd Marks and Dan Molloy, the two other GOP candidates for the District 57 state House seat. Republican Faye Culp is term limited out of the seat. Stacy Frank is the likely Democratic nominee.

Marks, an attorney, made news recently by calling for the state to enact tougher immigration laws, as Arizona has. Young has said she supports a state's right to do what it needs to do to protect its citizens, but worries the Arizona law may infringe on the rights of people who have entered the country legally. Molloy, past president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, has said he generally supports less government at every level, not more, so the federal government should take the lead on the issue.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer