GOP Rep. Kiyan Michael faces Rachel Grage, her first Democratic challenger, in next Tuesday’s election in Florida House District 16, a seat that covers the Beaches, East Arlington and the intracoastal communities.
When Michael first ran for the seat two years ago, no Democrats file to oppose her. This time, Grage said in a video her campaign shared, she decided to challenge Michael in the heavily Republican seat to end “culture war politics at the expense of real-world, everyday issues affecting Floridians.”
Michael has served as a key ally to Gov. Ron DeSantis ever since his 2022 endorsement elevated her over two other Republicans vying for the Duval County seat. Even before her election, she worked with him as a citizen to pass SB 168 in 2019, an immigration enforcement bill that banned so-called “sanctuary cities” in Florida.
Michael has said she prioritizes immigration enforcement because her son Brandon was killed in a 2007 car crash involving a man who immigrated to the U.S. illegally.
Both Grage and Michael did not return requests for comment.
On her campaign website, Michael said she would “protect our state from the radical left.”
Twelve of the bills Michael sponsored, or companion versions of the bills, have become law in the last two years.
That includes HB 741, a bill allowing traffic cameras on school buses that Michael listed on her campaign website as a 2023 legislative victory.
The bill allowed school districts to contract with private companies to fine drivers who blow past school bus stop signs.
Michael filed HB 741 on a Friday in February 2023. By Monday, Michael’s political committee received a $5,000 contribution from A Stronger Florida, a committee that served as a passthrough for the leading school bus camera vendor, BusPatrol, according to The Tributary’s past reporting.
A Stronger Florida donated again earlier this month, giving a total of $10,000 to Michael’s committee.
The use of a political committee means it’s not possible to directly connect BusPatrol to Michael, but The Tributary’s analysis found consistent ties between BusPatrol’s contributions and money paid to candidates and politicians across Florida.
This election, Michael has raised about $102,000 directly and through her political committee. Her challenger has raised about $62,000.
Grage moved to Florida in 2019, according to her campaign website, and began to get involved with the Democratic Party in St. Johns County before moving to Duval County.
On her website, she identified reforming property insurance, improving healthcare access and protecting the environment as key policies she planned to pursue if elected.
Florida House District 16 represents one of the most conservative parts of Duval County. In 2020, nearly 58% of the voters in the district voted for former President Donald Trump, and in 2022, DeSantis won about 65% of the votes in the district.
