After graduation, he worked as a legislative aide and analyst in the Florida House of Representatives before moving back to St. Petersburg, where he served as an assistant public defender.

He won the Democratic nomination unopposed, and in the general election, he faced former State Representative Frank Farkas, the Republican nominee, and independent candidate Matthew Weidner.

[5] The Tampa Bay Times endorsed Dudley, declaring that he "would bring a fresh voicer to Tallahassee and better represent consumers.

While serving in the legislature, Dudley authored legislation that would repeal the ability of utility companies "to charge customers for future power plants," which has allowed Duke Energy to charge its customers more than a billion dollars for a nuclear plant that they decided to cancel, and legislation that would allow "renewable and alternative energy providers to exist alongside large utility companies."

Black drew national attention in January 2014 when he publicly called for the hanging of President Barack Obama, posting on Twitter, "I'm past impeachment.