Florida House 66: Nick DiCeglie defeats Alex Heeren

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• With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Nick DiCeglie had about 57 percent of the vote compared to Democrat Alex Heeren’s 43 percent.
• Those results include early voting and partial mail ballots.
• More election results here.

Republican Nick DiCeglie defeated Democrat Alex Heeren on Tuesday in the race for an open Florida House seat.

DiCeglie, 44, owns Solar Sanitation, a family-run garbage hauling company. He lives in Indian Rocks Beach with his wife and two children.

"It's a real honor for me to have the opportunity to serve the community I live in, the community I'm raising my family in, the community I'm running my business in," DeCeglie said Tuesday.

His life as a small business owner has informed his politics. He said he will work to eliminate regulation, continue the effort to create a statewide private flood insurance market and close loopholes in assignment-of-benefits claims.

Heeren, 31, is a teacher-turned administrator for Pinellas County Schools. He helps teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and is married to a teacher. Education was Heeren's top priority, specifically increasing funding for traditional public schools.

He released a statement Tuesday congratulating DiCeglie.

"I also want to thank everyone who supported my campaign," he said. "We may not have won this race, but we have sent a powerful message to those in Tallahassee that we won't be silent any longer. I plan to continue working to improve our public education system in Florida."

House District 66 represents parts of Seminole, Largo and Clearwater as well as beach communities from Indian Shores to Belleair Beach.

For national and statewide election results check out The Buzz. 

For local election results check out the Bay Buzz. 

For school board election results check out The Gradebook.