ORLANDO, Fla. —

▶ LISTEN TO ORLANDO’S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO

Former state senator Randolph Bracy is looking to return to Tallahassee as he opens a campaign account to run for the District 15 seat, previously held by the late Geraldine Thompson.

This is the latest step in Bracy’s long and storied career, which began in the Florida House of Representatives in 2012. He was most recently a member of the Florida Senate from the 11th district from 2016 to 2022, before losing the 2024 Democratic primary to Thompson.

Bracy’s previous term saw him serve on several committees, including the Transportation Committee; Senate Appropriations Committee; and the Criminal Justice Committee, a committee for which he was the first African American to serve as Chair.

Bracy also introduced and sponsored numerous bills, one of the most notable of which being CS/SB 490, a bill that designates Juneteenth Day as a legal holiday in Florida.

READ: Florida senator, state representative calling for Juneteenth to become official holiday

“It’s a celebration that we have every year, where we commemorate the day when slaves were notified that they were free — almost two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation,” Bracy told WFTV in 2020, when first conceiving the bill. “It’s a day that, I think, its time has come to recognize it as an official state holiday.”

Bracy’s other ventures included SB 678, which sought to require education about the 1920 Ocoee massacre, as well as the Department of Economic Opportunity to prioritize certain applications for the Black Business Loan Program, and to create the Ocoee Scholarship Program for descendants of the victims. The bill was signed into law in 2020, citing a big win for Bracy.

READ: ‘Change has come’: Bill mandating history of Ocoee massacre be taught in Florida schools signed into law

The senator attempted to run for the District 15 seat in 2024, although lost to incumbent Geraldine Thompson, who he later tried to sue. Bracy accused Thompson of not living in the district that she was then serving, claiming that Thompson only owned one home in Windermere, which did not lay inside the boundaries of District 15.

Thompson refuted the accusations, saying Bracy was only copying a similar suit levied against another representative. Bracy said he would “consider” dropping the lawsuit if he were allowed to sit with Thompson, but such results never materialized. The lawsuit was dropped, and Thompson won the seat.

READ: Former Rep. Randolph Bracy gives update on lawsuit against Florida state senator

Bracy’s website lists his campaign priorities as “transportation, jobs, improving our environment, and fixing our healthcare system,” including securing more resources for employees and employers; increasing access to affordable housing; transportation enhancements; access to mental health services; and bridging the digital gap for underserved communities.

Bracy has yet to release a formal statement regarding his candidacy, nor has Governor Ron DeSantis announced a special election.

Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.