Pasco Sheriff Nocco Resigns Nov. 3 to Run for Senate District 21 Seat

Pasco County voters will see a new sheriff after Nov. 3, when Chris Nocco steps down to run for Florida Senate District 21. He faces Democrat Jordan Hensley in the Nov. 3 election for the seat retiring Sen. Ed Hooper holds.

Nocco announced in May that he would leave the Sheriff's Office on Election Day, ending a 15-year run as sheriff. Former Gov. Rick Scott first appointed him to the post in 2011, and voters returned him in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. Before becoming sheriff, he served as a captain and major at the Pasco Sheriff's Office. His PSO biography lists earlier police work in Philadelphia, Fairfax County, Virginia, and Broward County. He worked as a first responder during the Sept. 11 attacks, the D.C.-area sniper attacks and the anthrax incidents, and later served as deputy chief of staff to then-House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Hensley grew up in Ohio, earned a business degree from Mount Union College and worked in insurance billing and craft brewery marketing. He has worked as a bartender and restaurant manager in the Tampa Bay area for more than 13 years, leading teams at Barfly Saltwater Grill and the Fenway Hotel. He lives in Port Richey. His campaign takes no lobbyist money and no party endorsements, according to his website.

Senate District 21 covers parts of Pasco and Pinellas counties. Its electorate is 45% Republican, 25% Democratic and 30% independent. Nocco has named transportation, internet crime enforcement and mental health services as his priorities. Hensley has focused on rising rent, doubled insurance rates and flat wages.

It is not yet clear who will take over the sheriff's office when Nocco leaves on Nov. 3.