State Rep. Randy Maggard won the Republican primary for Florida House District 54 on Aug. 18, defeating Wesley Chapel firefighter Michael Pultorak with 68% of the vote, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The result all but guarantees Maggard another two years representing the eastern Pasco County district that includes Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Dade City and San Antonio. No Democrat qualified for the seat, and the only remaining candidate on the Nov. 3 general election ballot is write-in Paul Bybee, a registered Republican who does not live in the district and reported raising no money.

Maggard, 63, a Zephyrhills businessman who co-owns Sonny's Discount Appliances in Dade City, has held the seat since winning a 2019 special election. Tuesday marked his fourth consecutive win for the district. He serves as Deputy Majority Leader in the Florida House. In an Aug. 4 candidate Q&A published by Neighborhood News, Maggard said this would be his final term due to term limits: "If reelected, I will be serving my last two-year term. Cost of living for expenses such as property insurance, health care and autism support will be my main focus."

Pultorak, a Hillsborough County Fire Rescue captain in his 30th year of service, entered the race June 30 after years of speaking at Pasco County Commission meetings about growth, parks and data centers, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons. He campaigned on opposition to data centers, the Live Local Act and what he called developer-friendly legislation in Tallahassee, accepting no donations from developers or utility companies.

As we reported Aug. 14, Maggard had roughly $152,000 in campaign funds plus about $91,000 in an affiliated political committee, compared to Pultorak's approximately $11,000, including $2,000 of his own money.

Maggard's endorsement list included Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, state Sen. Danny Burgess, the Florida Professional Firefighters and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Pultorak was backed by Defending Rural Florida, the Florida League of Republican Voters and the Florida Republican Liberty Caucus.

Countywide, Pasco elections data showed turnout of 21.5%, with 86,103 ballots cast out of 400,459 registered voters. All 122 precincts reported completely by 12:53 a.m. Wednesday. Results remain unofficial.

Because Bybee qualified as a write-in, the Aug. 18 contest was a closed Republican primary rather than a universal primary open to all registered voters. Bybee ran as a write-in for the Pasco County Commission District 4 seat in 2024 and withdrew once that closed primary concluded. Whether he will do the same before Nov. 3 is unclear.

Maggard took 60% of the vote in the 2024 general election for the same seat. He faces only Bybee on Nov. 3.