Republicans may topple Tallahassee titans Al Lawson and Loranne Ausley

Al Lawson and Loranne Ausley are in a tough re-election battle Tuesday. The winner could decide which party controls the U.S. House and whether the Republicans become a supermajority in the Florida Senate.

Ausley is a sixth-generation Tallahasseean deeply rooted in Talla's politics. Her great-great-grandfather served in the Florida House, her great grandfather was a state senator, and her father lost a 1972 race for the Senate seat Ausley now holds. Lawson has represented North Florida in Washington and the Legislature for 34 years. The new Congressional redistricting map eliminated Lawson's minority-access seat and pitted him in a safe Republican seat against Congressman Neal Dunn.

DeSantis' recruitment of former football player Corey Simon is part of an effort to paint much of the Panhandle red. Leon County Republicans think they are on the brink of a historic takeover. Tallahassee has not been simultaneously represented by Republicans in both the U.S. House and the Florida Senate since Reconstruction and in the late 1800s.

Lawson believes DeSantis targeted him to reduce minority representation in the U.S House in advance of a presidential run. The Congressional redistricting map is under court challenge.

Lawson is a former basketball player from North Havana. He was a basketball star for North Cuba. In 1964, he and other players were stopped for water at a public fountain along U.S. Highway 27. A sign said "Whites only" but he took a drink anyway. The police officer dismissed his complaint. Lawson is running for the House District 2 seat.

Lawson was the first African American elected to a Panhandle legislative seat. He was instrumental in forming a coalition with Cuban Republicans to create congressional minority access districts for African Americans and Hispanics. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, was elected in 1992. Lawson challenged her in 2016 after she was ensnared in a financial scandal.

Loranne Ausley is running for a state House seat in Florida. She is taking a bus tour and door-to-door canvassing. The Democratic Party has no infrastructure to help her campaign outside Tallahassee. Republicans have increased voter registration by 9% since 2018. The GOP outnumber Democrats by more than 290,000 voters statewide. In Leon and Gadsden counties, Republicans lead in 13 of 16 counties. Ausly ran for the state legislature in 2000 and was elected to the House District 9 in 2016. Jeff Atwater outspent Ausily 3 to 1 in 2010.