Former Brevard U.S. Congressman Dave Weldon announced that he is going to run for Florida House District 32 in the 2024 election.

The seat is currently occupied by Representative Thad Altman who has termed out in the position for the 2nd time. Altman is now running for County Commissioner, a position he held from 1984 to 1992.

Weldon, a physician, was the congressman in Brevard immediately prior to Congressman Bill Posey who has held the seat since 2009. He first won election in 1994 and subsequently to 2006. Instead of running for re-election, he decided to run for Senator and ended up losing in the Republican Primary.

This announcement essentially closed the door on others who were intending to run for the open District 32 seat. Most notably was current school board chair Matt Susin. For nearly a year, Susin says he’s been garnering support and “raising $400k” in committed funds for the run according to him. However recent legal issues and the less than favorable performance as School Board Chair has caused him to lose much of the modest support he had. He will likely end up abandoning his hopes at State House, and run for reelection to his school board seat.

Also considering a run was Melbourne City Councilman Tim Thomas. Tim was all in to run against Matt in the Republican primary, however now that Weldon has announced, Tim will likely just run for reelection to his city council seat.

So far, no other candidates have filed to run for the heavily Republican leaning district.