NEWS

Altman wins House seat after write-in withdraws

Caroline Glenn
FLORIDA TODAY
Thad Altman, running for House  District 52, debates the issues in front of a packed house at the Eastern Florida State College Melbourne campus auditorium before the primary election.

Florida Sen. Thad Altman secured a seat in the Florida House of Representatives after write-in opponent Edward Bollinger suddenly withdrew.

Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott confirmed that Bollinger no longer is a candidate for House District 52, after her office received notice of his withdrawal Wednesday morning.

As a result, the race will not be included on the Nov. 8 ballot for the general election. Ballots for oversees Brevard military, which already were printed and scheduled to be mailed out Friday, will have to be reprinted.

"I'm happy to be elected. It’s a great feeling," Altman said on a voicemail regarding his win. "That sense of closure is always fantastic."

However, he said he was surprised Bollinger had dropped out, as this was his second experience of a write-in candidate withdrawing. Scott said she had not spoken with Bollinger much, and was not aware of why he dropped out.

Florida House Brevard County GOP primaries

Altman, currently the chief executive officer of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, previously sat on the Brevard County Commission from 1984 to 1992, in the Florida House from 2003 to 2008, and has served as a Florida senator since 2008. He was not able to seek re-election to the Senate due to term limits.

In the primary election, Altman beat out fellow Republicans Brian Hodgers, Monique Miller and Robert "Fritz" VanVolkenburgh, with 33.96 percent of the vote. Hodgers received 22.94 percent, Miller received 22.71 percent and VanVolkenberg received 20.38 percent,

In past candidate forums, Altman had sparred with opponents over environmental issues, including the Indian River Lagoon.

Campaign finance records show Altman had received $87,050 in monetary contributions, compared with $395,695 for Hodgers, $33,470 for Miller and $2,020 for VanVolkenburgh.

Bollinger did not return phone calls for comment.

Contact Glenn at caglenn@floridatoday.com or 321-576-5933, and follow her on Twitter @bycarolineglenn and like "Education at Florida Today" on Facebook.