Florida → Senate → District 21
The Florida Senate directory lists Ed Hooper (R) for the 2024–26 term and gives the county coverage as Consists of parts of Pasco, Pinellas counties.
District map · 2022 Senate plan
Coverage: Northern Pinellas County and southwestern Pasco County, anchoring the north-central coastal corridor of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area.
Incorporated Municipalities & Communities: Covers Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Safety Harbor, East Lake, and portions of Clearwater in northern Pinellas; extends into southwest Pasco covering New Port Richey, Port Richey, Trinity, Holiday, and Odessa.
Transportation Arteries: Bisected north-south by US Highway 19, State Road 590, and County Road 1; east-west transit spans State Road 54 (connecting Pasco to Hillsborough) and State Road 580/584.
Waterways and Ecological Features: Bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, St. Joseph Sound, and the Anclote River. Major ecological reserves include Brooker Creek Preserve (Pinellas), Anclote River Park, and Honeymoon Island State Park.
Coastal Infrastructure Vulnerabilities: Extreme exposure to tidal surges, low-lying coastal flooding, and hurricane vulnerability along the Anclote basin, Gulf harbors, and barrier islands.
Population Scale: Structured around an target ideal size of ~538,455 residents under the 2020 redistricting baseline (Florida Senate Plan S027S8058).
Demographic Composition: Predominantly non-Hispanic White (estimated >78%), with growing Hispanic communities (~10–12%) and smaller Black/African American populations (~3–5%). Detailed aggregate age tables reflect a heavy retiree concentration (median age ~48–50 years).
Voter Registration Profile: Leans solid Republican. Active registered voters split roughly 39% Republican, 29% Democratic, and 30% No Party Affiliation (NPA) / third party according to county supervisor roll distributions across Pasco and Pinellas.
Precinct Distribution: Divided across coastal northern Pinellas precincts (traditionally moderate-to-conservative suburban) and southwest Pasco precincts (historically higher Republican turnout and margins).
2022 General Election: Ed Hooper (REP) defeated Amaro Lionheart (DEM) with 64.9% (134,809 votes) to 35.1% (72,999 votes), securing a decisive 29.8-point victory under the newly drawn lines (Florida Division of Elections 2022 Official Results).
2024 General Election: Hooper secured re-election against Democrat Doris Carroll, retaining the seat with ~61% of the vote amid strong regional suburban Republican performance.
Top-of-Ticket Performance: The district voted solidly for Ron DeSantis (R) and Marco Rubio (R) in 2022, and favored Donald Trump (R) over Joe Biden (D) in 2020 and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024 by mid double-digit margins.
Partisan Index: Evaluated at approximately R+10 to R+12 Cook PVI equivalent, establishing SD 21 as a safe Republican seat barring major political realignments.
Healthcare Systems: Anchored by BayCare Health System (operating Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor and Mease Dunedin Hospital), AdventHealth North Pinellas (Tarpon Springs), and Morton Plant North Bay Hospital (New Port Richey).
Higher Education: St. Petersburg College (Tarpon Springs Campus) and nearby access points to Pasco-Hernando State College (West Campus, New Port Richey).
Tourism and Marine Commerce: Anchored by the historic sponge docks, Greek cultural district, and commercial docks in Tarpon Springs; marina hubs in Dunedin and Gulf harbors; Honeymoon Island State Park and Caladesi Island ferry hubs.
Manufacturing and Light Industry: Defense contractors, precision manufacturing, and corporate parks along the SR 54 Trinity corridor in Pasco and the US 19 commercial industrial strip in Pinellas.
Elected Leadership: Senator Ed Hooper (former Clearwater firefighter, former state representative 2006–2014); adjacent House delegation includes Kim Berfield (HD 58), Adam Anderson (HD 57), and Brad Yeager (HD 56).
County Commissions & Constitutional Officers: Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners, Pasco County Board of County Commissioners, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, and Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco.
Political Committees: Friends of Ed Hooper (affiliated political committee); Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (FRSCC); local business PACs including Tampa Bay Chamber PAC and Florida First Responders-aligned donor entities.
Chambers of Commerce: Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce, and Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce.
Committee Assignments: Senator Hooper has served as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development, along with assignments on the full Appropriations Committee, Rules, and Regulated Industries (Florida Senate Member Details).
Legislative Priorities: Heavy focus on first responder benefits/pensions, workers' compensation protections for firefighters, local transportation roadway widening (US 19, SR 54), tourist development tax restructuring, and mobile home residency regulations.
Appropriations Track Record: Consistently champions line-item funding for Pinellas/Pasco coastal dredging, water quality and stormwater improvements along the Anclote River basin, and targeted capital projects for local educational facilities and regional hospitals.
Investigative Questions & Correlation Leads:
First Responder Policy vs. PAC Funding: Test the correlation between Hooper’s sponsorship of firefighter disability and cancer presumption laws and recurring campaign donations from IAFF-affiliated political committees and state municipal unions via the Florida Division of Elections Campaign Finance Database.
Regional Infrastructure Allocations vs. Pasco/Pinellas Growth: Examine whether district transportation budget earmarks for US 19 interchanges and SR 54 transit access correlate with active large-scale master-planned developments in southwest Pasco County, cross-referencing Pasco County Board minutes with Florida Senate General Appropriations Acts.
Tourism Tax Policy vs. Coastal Hotel Alliances: Assess whether Hooper’s legislative efforts surrounding tourist development tax (TDT) usage align with lobbying registrations and filings from Tampa Bay and Clearwater Beach hospitality industry groups registered via the Florida Lobbyist Registration Directory.
Research text: Gemini browser session, 2026-10-04. Officeholder and county coverage: Florida Senate directory. The graph keeps these leads separate from the reference office record.