Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in parts of Orange and Osceola counties for the Florida House District 35 special election.

Republican Erika Booth and Democrat Thomas “Tom” Keen are vying for the seat, which opened when incumbent Republican Fred Hawkins resigned in June to become president of South Florida State College.

Booth, 46, is a member of the Osceola County School Board and is married to County Commissioner Ricky Booth. Her website describes her as a “conservative classroom teacher.”

Keen, 67, is former Navy commander and flight officer who lives in Lake Nona. A manager at Collins Aerospace, he lost the primary for this seat in 2022.

The race is important to both parties, as evidenced by the many television commercials both candidates aired.

According to Fresh Take Florida, a news service run by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, GOP groups and lawmakers had given nearly $133,000 of the total $305,000 raised by Booth. Keen raised $115,386 from all sources – less than the $116,000 Booth spent on advertising alone.

Keen said his two biggest priority issues are addressing Florida’s insurance crisis and protecting abortion rights. In an interview with Fresh Take Florida, he also said he supports affordable housing and environmental protections.

ENDORSEMENT: In House District 35, Tom Keen has shown he’s ready to represent

“I think that the reason I want to do what I’m doing is based on my military service, and it’s all about serving the community,” Keen said.

Booth has campaigned with slogans that include “stop the woke mob,” “cancel the woke agenda,” “stop the brainwashing” and “free and fair elections,” along with embracing former President Donald Trump’s “America First” platform.

She did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.

According to the Orange County Elections website, 3,398 voters in the county cast ballots in the early voting period for the race. Some 7,100 mail-in ballots were requested.

Early voting totals for Osceola County were not not available.

To check if you are eligible to vote in the special election, visit the Orange County elections website at ocfelections.com or the Osceola County elections website at voteosceola.gov.

Silas Morgan of Fresh Take Florida contributed to this report.