A dermatologist outspent a Villager to win a special state senate election.
Ralph Massullo of Lecanto collected 59 percent of the vote to win Tuesday’s State Senate District 11 contest over Ash Marwah of the Village of Belvedere.
Turnout in the special election was an anemic 18 percent in the state senate district which includes Sumter County. The election was held to replace Blaise Ingoglia, who vacated the seat after being named the state’s chief financial officer earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Massullo, the Republican raised $249,950, compared with Democrat Marwah’s $12,125.
The pair quibbled over the fact that Massullo had paid $2.3 million to settle allegations of Medicare fraud. It was a point that Massullo disputed in a piece in Villages-News.com.
Even in defeat, Florida Democratic Chair Nikki Fried claimed victory, noting that President Trump had won that district by a wide margin in 2024 and Marwah had managed to close the gap.