Chris Latvala

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Christopher John "Chris" Latvala (born December 29, 1981) is a Republican politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 67th District, which includes Clearwater and Largo in northern Pinellas County, since 2014.

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History

Latvala was born in Dunedin, Florida, to Jack Latvala, formerly a Florida State Senator from the 20th District. After his parents divorced, he grew up with his mother in Jacksonville. Latvala attended Valencia Community College, receiving his associates degree in 2002, and the University of Central Florida, receiving his bachelor's degree in history in 2004. Following graduation, he began working as State Representative Ed Hooper's legislative aide, a position that he held from 2006 to 2009. After leaving the legislature, Latvala began working at his father's company, GCI Printing Services, where he currently works as Vice-President.

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Florida House of Representatives

In 2014, incumbent State Representative Ed Hooper was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Latvala ran to succeed him. He ran against veteran Christopher Shepard in the Republican primary, and campaigned on the experience that he gained while working for Hooper, noting that it "taught him the value of constituent services--helping individual citizens with their state government problems." Latvala ended up defeating Shepard by a wide margin, winning 67% of the vote, and advancing to the general election, where he faced the Democratic nominee, Steve Sarnoff. In the end, Latvala ended up defeating Sarnoff, winning his first term in the legislature with 53% of the vote.