Quick Facts
Biography
Blaise Ingoglia (born November 4, 1970) is a Republican politician who currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 35th District, which includes Spring Hill and Brooksville in Hernando County, since 2014.Ingoglia also served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, a position he had held since 2015.
History
Ingoglia was born in Queens in New York City, and attended Queens College, studying economics and accounting, and Brooklyn College, studying biology, but he did not graduate. In 1996, he moved to Spring Hill, Florida, so that he could start America One Mortgage, his first small business, and Hartland Homes. He entered politics in 2007 when he began giving seminars on perceived waste and "excess spending" in government that he called "Government Gone Wild.In 2008, he spent nearly fifty thousand dollars of his own money "to unseat the career, big-government, tax-and-spend county commissioners from office that refused to offer property tax relief," an effort that was ultimately successful. Ingoglia was elected as the Chairman of the Hernando County Republican Executive Committee in 2009, and then was elected the Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida in 2011. In 2016 Ingoglia stepped down as Chairman of the Hernando County Republican Party when he was elected State Committeeman for Hernando County.
Florida House of Representatives
In 2014, incumbent State Representative Robert C. Schenck was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Ingoglia ran to succeed him. He won the Republican primary unopposed, and faced Democratic nominee Rose Rocco, a former Hernando County Commissioner, and independent candidates James Scavetta and Hamilton R. Hanson in the general election. He campaigned on job creation and economic development, saying repeatedly, "It's about jobs." Ultimately, Ingoglia defeated his opponents by a wide margin, winning 51% of the vote to Rocco's 42%, Scavetta's 4%, and Hanson's 3%.
Following his election to the legislature, Ingoglia announced that he would seek election as the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, and successfully challenged and defeated the incumbent Chairwoman, Leslie Dougher.
