Vance Ahrens is state senate district 19. (Photo from Vance Ahrens’ Facebook)
Vance Ahrens, who is running for the Florida Senate in District 19, has found herself fighting to become a voice for the voiceless.
Ahrens is looking to become the first openly trans person to serve in the Florida Senate, a seat currently held by anti-LGBTQ+ state Sen. Debbie Mayfield, who is not seeking re-election because of term limits.
Ahrens got her first taste of Tallahassee when she testified in front of the Florida legislature in 2023 to argue against the gender-affirming care ban.
“There were literally hundreds of people there to testify against this bill and I’m watching senators literally play games on their phones while kids are up there pleading for their lives,” says Ahrens. “Given 30 seconds to speak and pleading for their lives.”
Through the testimonies and tireless attempts to have her government see her point of view, Ahrens knew the noise she was trying to make was being ignored.
“I had the opportunity later to actually speak to [Florida Senator who is running for Florida House in District 32] Debbie Mayfield … and introduce myself, that I was a constituent of hers and I lived in Grant. And she said, ‘Is that even in Brevard County?’ and I was like okay the system is broken. Somebody needs to do something about this,” says Ahrens.
Running as an openly LGBTQ+ candidate in Florida can pose its own unique set of challenges, leading some in the community to think that running for office in the state is unrealistic, says Dustin Ahrens, a campaign volunteer for Vance Ahrens who is also her son.
“She’s showing that hey we’re in this community, anyone in this community can go through and run for these things and try to make a better change for everyone,” says Dustin Ahrens.
(Photos courtesy Vance Ahrens)
Vance Ahrens says, through all of the noise, her campaign is fighting to get back to the basic needs of Floridians.
“Most Floridians do not care about, at least from my experience from talking to people, taking away rights from LBGTQ people. What’s on their mind is being able to pay their rent or being able to pay their electricity or their homeowners’ insurance,” says Caitlin Spence Burhuet, a volunteer for Ahrens’ campaign.
Vance Ahrens has connected with her community members on her pro-choice stance, her concerns with climate change and government overreach. Her decision to run on a fully grassroots funded campaign has allowed her to understand her constituents’ concerns.
“There are so many people we talk to who are so fed up with the culture wars and the division of our state and of our country. What I thought was really surprising was a lot of people used to be registered Republican but because of DeSantis and because of Trump they no longer were,” says Burhuet. “One person in particular, an ex-Republican, who has been in the party until Trump became president, started crying and telling us that the main reason he left the Republican Party was because of how hateful they were to marginalized communities.”
Vance Ahrens is using her campaign to try and create a safer environment for marginalized individuals. With her pro-choice stance she wants to bring the right for a woman to choose back to Florida.
“I was alive when Roe passed, in the early ‘70s, I was too young to remember it. However, I was the same age when Roe passed that my granddaughter was when it was overturned. I couldn’t see her growing up in a world where she had less rights than my mother did,” says Vance Ahrens.
Her overall hope is to create a better and safer Florida for the future. Vance Ahrens, who grew up in South Florida throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, spent much of her time in Florida’s outdoors and she wants to improve and preserve the environment of her beloved state.
“The Indian River lagoon is a huge ecotourism draw, it’s something that is beautiful. I remember when I first moved here you could drive along US1 and look out into the lagoon and you could literally see the seagrass at the bottom of the lagoon, you could see the manatees and dolphins swimming down in the water,” said Vance Ahrens.
Yet Ahrens has slowly seen this beauty be depleted.
“As progressive as I am, I’ve been around for a little while. I realize that lasting change takes time. It takes compromise, but there are some things I won’t compromise on. I won’t compromise who I am, I won’t compromise on basic fundamental human rights, by any means. I don’t like the idea of our state government taking away decision making abilities from local communities,” she says.
Learn more about Vance Ahrens here.
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