Lawyers file for legislative seats: the house could see an increase from its current 31 lawyer-legislators.

The number of lawyers in the Florida Senate will not increase by more than one after this year's elections, and may even drop, but the Florida House could see an increase from its current 31 lawyer-legislators.

According to slate election and Florida Bar records, no lawyers filed for open Senate seats and only one registered to challenge an incumbent for the 22 seats on the ballot this year. (A trend in all legislative races was that few incumbents received serious challengers.) Of the nine lawyers currently in the Senate, four--Sen. Skip Campbell, D-Tamarac, Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami--are at the midpoint of their four-year terms and are not on the ballot this year.

Of the remaining five, two are unopposed and two have only minor party challengers.

In the House, all 120 seats are on the ballot, and a handful of the 31 lawyers serving there, including House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, are not running again, mostly because of term limits. Overall, according to a tentative check of Bar records, there are 40 races where lawyers are running. Seven teen are incumbents who face no opposition and hence have been reelected, while three face only minor party candidates. One newcomer, Pinellas County sheriff and attorney Everett Rice, a Republican, was elected without opposition to the District 54 seat.

Senate Results

In the Senate, Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, in District 37, and Sen. Steven Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, in District 31, were reelected without opposition.

Two others face only nominal opposition. Sen. Lisa Carlton, R-Osprey, is being challenged by Libertarian Charles Manhart in District-23. In District 25, Sen. Dave Aronberg. D-Greenacres, faces Independent Stan Smilan.

(Aronberg did have a Republican challenger, who withdrew because of technical difficulties with his filing papers. Gov. Jeb Bush and Secretary of State Glenda Hood are considering having a special registration period if other Republicans are interested in filing, but no decision had been made at Bar News deadline, according to the stale Division of Elections.)

The only other attorney incumbent senator, Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, faces a primary challenge from Geraldine F. Thompson, with the winner taking on Republican Franklin Cardona in November.

In District 39, attorney and former state Rep. Ron Saunders has filed to face incumbent Sen. Larcenia J. Bullard, D-Miami, and Sheila Chamberlain in the Democratic...