1978Final results
1978 Democratic primary for Florida House District 115
Florida House of Representatives · Florida
James F. Eckhart (D) won with 14.0% of the vote, defeating Deborah Debella (D) by 3.5 points.
James F. EckhartDemocrat · winner · incumbent
14.0%15,949
Bill FlynnDemocrat · winner
13.0%14,847
Deborah DebellaDemocrat
10.5%11,987
Gene FlinnDemocrat
9.1%10,419
Dexter LehtinenDemocrat
7.8%8,952
Don PalladenoDemocrat
6.7%7,671
Emmett BenjaminDemocrat
6.6%7,511
Phil HarrisDemocrat
6.4%7,295
Larry HawkinsDemocrat
5.3%6,057
H. Clayton HamiltonDemocrat
4.7%5,388
Thomas HollandDemocrat
4.7%5,346
Phillip S. BrewerDemocrat
4.3%4,896
Eduardo ArangoDemocrat
4.3%4,889
John Fred Kuhn Jr.Democrat
2.6%2,997
114,204 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
James F. Eckhart (D)Bill Flynn (D)Deborah Debella (D)Gene Flinn (D)Dexter Lehtinen (D)Don Palladeno (D)Emmett Benjamin (D)Phil Harris (D)Larry Hawkins (D)
Also on the ballot: H. Clayton Hamilton (Democrat), 4.7%; Thomas Holland (Democrat), 4.7%; Phillip S. Brewer (Democrat), 4.3%; Eduardo Arango (Democrat), 4.3%; John Fred Kuhn Jr. (Democrat), 2.6%