With the Legislature not tackling redistricting until early 2012, a crowd of familiar faces from both past and present sessions of the Florida House will be looking to make the jump to the Senate. As one of the consequences of redistricting, all 40 seats in the Senate will be up in November 2012 -- giving 14 House members, past and present, a chance to head over to the other side of the Legislature.

With Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville, facing term limits, two veteran First Coast Democrats are looking to take the District 1 seat which currently includes parts of Duval, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties. Former Rep. Terry Fields, a longtime fixture of Jacksonville’s political scene as a member of the City Council and the Duval County Civil Service Board, has already thrown his name in the hat and has set up a website. But he does not have a clear shot at the nomination. Former Rep. Audrey Gibson, who served four terms in the House, eventually becoming Democratic floor leader, stands in his path. As of the end of 2010, Fields has been keeping his powder dry. While he has raised more than $91,000, he has kept most of it, spending almost $28,000. That’s more than Gibson had raised in the same period. By the end of 2010, she raised almost $24,000 but has burned through most of it, spending more than $20,500. While there is plenty of time in the race, for the moment, Fields has a solid financial advantage.

Former Rep. Aaron Bean put together an impressive start in 2010 and early 2011 for his bid to replace Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, who faces term limits in 2012. After flirting with running for the Senate seat left vacant by the death of former Senate President Jim King, Bean pulled out and threw his weight behind eventual winner John Thrasher. Since that time, Bean has been keeping busy, raising more than $240,000 by the end of 2010 and spending more than $50,000 as he looks to take the District 5 seat which currently represents parts of Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. This has earned Bean the backing of many Republicans across the state -- including much of the Senate leadership. Bean’s early start forced former Rep. Dick Kravitz, a longtime fixture of Jacksonville politics, to pull the plug on his own bid and run for tax collector of Duval County. While Bean has cautioned supporters, saying that other candidates may enter the race, he has a solid head start on whoever else emerges.

With Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, facing term limits in 2012, so far only one candidate has emerged to run in Senate District 7, which currently contains parts of Clay, Marion, Putnam and Volusia counties. It’s Rep. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, a veteran of Volusia County politics who won four terms in the House, eventually rising to chair the Economic Affairs Committee. After winning a fourth term in November 2010, Hukill turned her focus to the 2012 Senate campaign, bringing in more than $14,000 and spending less than $21.

House Speaker Pro Tempore John Legg, R-Port Richey, has filed to run for the District 11 Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. The district currently contains parts of Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas counties. Legg filed the paperwork with the state Division of Elections in January so there are no financial reports out on his campaign yet. So far, he is the only candidate to announce for the seat.

Two Republicans have filed paperwork to run for the District 13 seat currently held by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, which includes parts of Pinellas County. Rep. Jim Frishe, R-Belleair Bluffs, a veteran of the House who first served three terms in the 1980s before returning in 2006, will be seeking the Republican nomination. Standing in his path is fellow Republican former Rep. Leslie Waters, first elected to the House in 1998 and eventually rising to be speaker pro tempore after the 2004 elections. With Frishe and Waters joining the race in the first months of 2011, no financial reports have been submitted to the state yet for a race that is shaping up to be one to watch.