A Republican will run for the House District 60 seat Rep. Lindsay Cross, a Democrat, is vacating at the end of her term.

Bill Mitchell, a partner at Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani and a former Air Force aircraft mechanic turned civil trial attorney, said Tuesday he planned to run for the seat. As of Tuesday, he’s the only Republican so far to express an interest in running.

Attorney Lindsay Polega-Quigley is already in for the Democrats, with support from Cross. Cross announced last week that she would not seek re-election. Hours later, Polega-Quigley announced her bid.

Mitchell announced his bid on Facebook.

“From Air Force aircraft mechanic to civil trial attorney, the best job will always be being a dad, but I hope with your support my next job will be a Florida House Representative,” he wrote.

Mitchell has not yet filed for the race, but plans to this week ahead of the Friday qualifying deadline.

Mitchell served in the Air Force for 15 years, and he’s lived in Feather Sound for the past 11 years, currently serving as President of the Feather Sound Community Services Board.

Speaking with Florida Politics Tuesday morning, Mitchell said his platform is still a work in progress, but said it will focus on issues important to Florida voters, and specifically those in Pinellas County.

With a property tax referendum now planned for the November ballot, Mitchell said that will likely be something he works on.

“Voters are probably going to send that back to Tallahassee, and we’ll have to sharpen our pencils and figure out how the money flows,” he said of the contentious proposal to increase the state’s homestead exemption from the current $50,000 to $150,000 next year and $250,000 in 2028.

Mitchell also said he’ll prioritize affordability issues, another area he says is “on everybody’s mind.”

Mitchell hadn’t planned to run for office, but he said he’s always had a drive to serve.

“I have always yearned for my days of doing things that were meaningful,” he said, pointing to his military service. “Being part of something important, I miss that.”

Mitchell, who lost a thumb during his military service, jokes that he “had to go be a lawyer because I couldn’t lose any more digits.”

For now, Mitchell is the only Republican in the race, but that could change between now and Friday. Asked whether he had support from legislative leadership, Mitchell said he wasn’t at liberty to discuss that, but said ultimately it doesn’t matter.

“We have to have an election,” he said in a nod to the tight timeline prospective candidates face before Friday’s qualifying deadline. As of Tuesday morning, Polega-Quigley was the only filed candidate and if no one else were to file, she would be elected without opposition.

“We have to have someone in the majority party who can advocate for Pinellas County. We can’t just let Lindsay back out and then some newcomer jump in without an election,” he elaborated.

HD 60 is a swing district. Democrats have only a small voter registration edge, outnumbering Republicans by fewer than 1,000 out of more than 108,000 voters. Cross was re-elected to her seat in November 2024, earning 54% of the vote after a tough challenge from former St. Pete City Council member Ed Montanari.

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