The local races for the Florida Legislature provided few surprises on Election Day with all incumbents appearing to hold onto their seats with wide leads late Tuesday.

Three newcomers -- who had pumped big money into their races -- also appeared to have won with the majority of precincts counted in Miami-Dade and Broward.

One of the more notable of the 10 legislative races on the ballot was the contest to succeed House Speaker Marco Rubio, who was forced out this year because of term limits.

Republican Erik Fresen won the District 111 seat, which includes portions of West Miami-Dade. Fresen, a land-use consultant for the law firm Holland and Knight, led Democrat Frank Morra, a courier and member of the Dade County Democratic Executive committee, in the polls throughout Election Day.

Rubio also appeared to have an impact in another race: the District 110 race pitting Republican Esteban ''Steve'' Bovo against Democrat Nancy Stander to replace term-limited state Rep. Rene Garcia.

Democrat Dan Gelber, formerly House minority leader who was forced out this year because of term limits, appeared to handily win the state Senate race for District 35, which covers part of northeastern Miami-Dade and a portion of southern Broward. He faced Republican Dean Santoro, a Miami businessman.

Juan C. Zapata, a West Kendall Republican, had a wide lead over Democrat Michael Calderin, a computer programmer with no political experience, in District 119. Calderin had hinged his hopes on public dissatisfaction with Republican leadership to help him win.

''Somehow I was able to set myself apart from that national wave,'' Zapata said, referring to a large Democratic turnout.

``What probably helped me the most are the little things that I do: the Christmas cards I sent out every year, the birthday cards and the school calendars.''

In District 113, which curves from Little Havana up through East Hialeah, incumbent Republican Carlos Lopez-Cantera appeared to beat Democratic challenger Javier A. Betancourt, an urban planner for the city of Coral Gables. Lopez-Cantera outraised his opponent $365,986 to $13,209.

In District 107, Democratic state Rep. Luis Garcia defeated Republican challenger Jorge Luis Lopez, an attorney and one-time aide to former Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, in one of the most heated and expensive of all of the legislative races.

Several candidates won with no significant opposition.

Julio Robaina, a South Miami Republican who faced a write-in candidate, won in District 117. State Rep. Eduardo ''Eddy'' Gonzalez, a Hialeah Republican, will return for a full two-year term in District 102. Gonzalez was tapped by the Republican party in 2006 to replace Rep. Ralph Arza, who resigned amid allegations he left threatening voicemails for former state Rep. Gus Barreiro.

David Rivera, a close ally of Rubio, who represents House District 112, won reelection after Democrat Betty Gaffney bowed out And state Rep. Ron Saunders, a Democrat, won after Ernie Gonzalez, a Republican from Homestead, withdrew.

Democrat Richard Steinberg, a Miami Beach commissioner, will also head to Tallahassee after facing only a write-in candidate for the House District 106 seat.

In August, he beat North Bay Village Mayor Joe Geller in the Democratic primary.

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