Staff Report
Local Republicans will head to the polls on Aug. 18 to choose their party’s nominee for Florida House District 71. Three Republicans—marketing professional and musician Jordan Varnadore, attorney Melton Little, and jeweler Dylan Modarelli—are competing for the nomination.
Florida House District 71 encompasses the coastal and northwestern portions of Manatee County, along with a small northern section of Sarasota County. The seat has been held by Republican Will Robinson since 2018, but Robinson is term-limited after serving four consecutive terms in the Florida House.
The Republican nominee will advance to the Nov. 3 General Election to face Democrat Ocean Fitts, the only Democratic candidate to qualify for the ballot, along with no-party-affiliation candidate Joseph Hoolihan.
Republican Jordan Varnadore
A lifelong resident of Manatee County, Varnadore graduated from Palmetto High School in 2006 and went on to the University of Mississippi, where he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Communications.
While some residents may know Varnadore best for his music and local performances as a dueling pianist, he also serves as the Vice President of Marketing at GarrettRichard, a Palmetto-based commercial insurance and PEO brokerage that he co-founded with his father.
According to his campaign website, Varnadore “is a proud America-First conservative” and a father to four young children. His campaign platform includes vows to protect families from extremist ideologies in schools, defend the Second Amendment and individual liberty, and empower local businesses.
Varnadore also received an appointment to serve as the Secretary on the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee (REC) from Florida GOP leadership after it disbanded the local REC following the 2024 Republican primary election.
As of the most recent campaign finance reporting period, Varnadore’s campaign had raised $76,995 in monetary contributions and another $990 in in-kind contributions. Campaign finance records show the candidate has received financial support from dozens of individual contributors and locally owned businesses, with much of his fundraising coming from donors in Manatee County. His contributors include local business owners, contractors, real estate professionals, restaurant operators and other local supporters, along with several members of his extended family.
He received multiple maximum donations from area businesses, including at least $7,000 in total contributions from businesses or individuals associated with Conley Buick GMC.
Varnadore’s campaign has also received maximum contributions from several Political Committees (PACs), including from the Parents First PC, which is chaired by Manatee School Board Member Chad Choate, as well as from Unifying Leadership for Florida, Protecting Florida’s Progress, Conservative for Florida, United for Florida, and Conservatives Standing Proudly for Common Sense, all of which are PACs chaired by Thomas Piccolo of the Tampa-based political consulting firm, SIMWINS.
His campaign also received contributions from additional PACs, including the Associated Industries of Florida PAC, the Conservatives for Florida Agriculture PAC, and the Floridians United for a Sustainable Economy PC which is chaired by Jon Mast, CEO of the Suncoast Builders Association.
Through the latest reporting period, the campaign had reported approximately $28,746 in expenditures, leaving a substantial portion of its fundraising available heading into the closing weeks of the Republican primary.
Republican Melton Little
A Bradenton native, Little grew up in the Bayshore Gardens area and graduated from Bayshore High School in 1979. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Samford University before receiving his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law. In 2021, he earned a Master of Laws (L.L.M.) degree in Health Law and Policy from Hofstra University.
After completing law school, Little returned to Manatee County, where he built a legal career spanning nearly four decades. He has practiced with several local firms, including Schofield, Spencer & Little and Kallins, Little & Delgado, and currently serves as managing partner of Kallins, Little & Brosious (Hardball Law) in Palmetto. He is also a licensed Realtor with Wagner Realty.
Little previously sought elected office in 2018, when he ran unsuccessfully for the Manatee County Commission as a Democrat. He later switched to the Republican Party in 2020, and announced his campaign as a Republican candidate for HD 71 in 2025.
According to his campaign website, Little’s platform emphasizes constitutional principles, individual liberty, limited government, fiscal responsibility, support for law enforcement, and free-market economic policies. His campaign also highlights the candidate’s prior community involvement, including leadership roles with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County, Keep Manatee Beautiful, the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, and the Manatee County Bar Association, as well as volunteer coaching and local scholarship initiatives.
Campaign finance records show that Little has reported the strongest campaign fundraising to date, with the latest reporting showing more than $452,000 in monetary contributions. Finance reports also show that Little has personally contributed $288,500 to his campaign, accounting for roughly two-thirds of its monetary fundraising. The remainder has come from individual donors, local businesses, and political committees.
Little’s campaign has attracted support from local attorneys, medical professionals, business owners, and real estate interests, including dozens of maximum contributions from businesses and individuals located within Manatee County. Some limited support has come from nearby counties or within the greater Tampa Bay region, with a few contributions originating outside Florida.
As of the campaign’s most recent financial reporting, Little’s campaign had received five maximum $1,000 contributions from PACs, including from the Chiro-PAC PC, the Florida Optometric PAC, and the Optometry PAC, each of which lists the same Tallahassee address at 120 South Monroe Street.
His campaign also received maximum contributions from the Committee to Protect Northwest Florida PAC and the Florida Medical Association PAC.
Through the latest reporting period, Little’s campaign had reported more than $119,000 in expenditures.
Republican Dylan Modarelli
Having originally filed as a 2026 candidate for Florida’s 19th Congressional District, Modarelli later withdrew from that race and entered the Republican primary for Florida House District 71 in late May.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Modarelli is the chief executive officer of Empire Gems, although TBT was unable to locate an active business website for the company. While his LinkedIn profile lists his location as Fort Myers, campaign documents identify him as a resident of Carlton Arms Apartments in Bradenton.
TBT was unable to locate an official campaign website for Modarelli but did identify a Facebook page associated with his campaign. In a public post shared on that page, Modarelli wrote, “I’m running to represent you, not the political establishment in Tallahassee. I will fight for working families, defend our freedoms, and put the people of Florida first every single day.”
Modarelli’s campaign finance activity appears minimal. The most recent filing, covering the reporting period ending May 31, consists of a waiver in lieu of a finance report, indicating no reportable campaign activity during that period. As of publication, no additional campaign finance reports had been posted despite multiple reporting deadlines having since passed. Though no campaign finance activity has been reported to date, official qualifying records indicate that Modarelli paid the qualifying fee required to appear on voters’ ballots.
For more information on candidates, election dates, deadlines, or to register to vote, verify your registration, or to update your voter information, visit votemanatee.gov or the Florida Division of Elections.