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TODAY 23 OF AUGUST the citizens of Florida went to the ballot box to elect their candidates in the primary elections, in preparation for the midterm and gubernatorial races later this year.
While the in-person voting was today, Floridians have been sending their votes for weeks through early voting. One of the most important races is the Democratic primary for governor, where Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried are facing each other to see who will defy the popular governor Ron DeSantis. There are also several congressional races in the state, with many eyes looking to the 13th and 7th District, seats that Republicans want to turn red, but first, they will have to select their candidates today.
Also up for election today are candidates seeking seats in the state legislature and seats on local school boards, both races with a significant number of candidates.
Minute by minute of the primary elections in Florida
20:50 ET Florida primary: Crist wins, incumbents survive
The Florida primary has effectively come to a close, as a vast majority of the races have been called. Former governor Charlie Crist defeated Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and will face Gov. DeSantis in November.
All incumbent representatives of both parties survived the primary season, with most of them winning uncontested races or by healthy margins. The only exception was Rep. Daniel Webster, who fend of challenger Laura Loomer by a tight margin.
In the open seat of FL13, El American’s former correspondent Anna Paulina Luna won her primary and will try to flip the district red in November.
20:45 ET Sabatini loses primary
Cory Mills has defeated Anthony Sabatini in the primary race for the FL07 GOP nomination. Mills got 38% of the vote to Sabatini’s 23.7%
20:40 ET List of Democratic winners
The following Democrats have won their congressional primary races: Al Lawson*, Karen Green, Darren Soto*, Shante Munns, Kimberly Walker, Eric Lynn, Kathy Castor*, Jan Schneider, Andrea Kale, Cindy Banyai, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick*, Corinna Robinson, Lois Frankel*, Jared Moskowitz, Frederica Wilson*, Debbie Wasserman Schultz*
*Incumbent
20:32 ET List of Republican winners
The following Republicans have won their primary races for Congress: Matt Gaetz*, Neal Dunn*, Kat Cammack*, Aaron Bean, John Rutherford*, Michael Waltz*, Bill Posey*, Scotty Moore, Calvin Wimbish, Daniel Webster*, Gus Bilirakis*, Anna Paulina Luna, Vern Buchanan*, Greg Steube*, Scott Franklin*, Byron Donalds*, Drew-Montez Clark, Brian Mast*, Mario Diaz-Balart*, and Maria Elvira Salazar*
*Incumbent
20:30 ET Gaetz comfortably leads his primary
Rep. Matt Gaetz holds a healthy lead against Mark Lombardo in the primary for FL-01. With 33% of the votes counted, Gaetz holds 64.5% of the vote to Lombardo’s 28.7%
20:23 ET: Daniel Webster defeats Laura Loomer in a tight primary
Rep. Daniel Webster has been declared the projected winner of the GOP primary for the 11th District, he defeated challenger Laura Loomer 50.7% to 44.5%
20:15 ET Democrat Anette Tadeo to face Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar this November
Democrat Anette Tadeo leads her primary with 68.4% of the vote. If the trend continues she will be facing Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar this November in the 27th District
20:10 ET Democrat incumbents sweep their primaries
All the Democratic incumbents have won their primaries. Representatives Kathy Castor, Sheila Cherfilus McCormick, Frederica Wilson, and Debbie Washerman-Shultz have defeated their challengers
Representatives Al Lawson, Darren Soto, and Lois Frankel ran uncontested.
20:05 ET Crist wins, Sabatini trails and Luna leads
Charlie Crist wins the Democratic Nomination with 60.2% of the vote.
Cory Mills leads Anthony Sabatini in the race for FL07 by 19 points.
Anna Paulina Lunna comfortably leads her race by 10 points.
19:50 ET: Close election in FL11
With 68% of the votes counted, incumbent congressman Daniel Webster has a less than 100 vote lead over challenger Laura Loomer.
19:45 ET: Republican incumbents sweep their primaries
The following Republican Representatives have already won their primaries: Kat Cammack, Michael Waltz, John Rutherford, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Byron Donalds, Brian mast, and Maria Elvira Salazar
19:37 ET: Anna Paulina Luna to seek GOP seat in November
With 83 % of the votes counted, Republican candidate, Anna Paulina Luna, leads her closest rival, Kevin Hayslett, by 9 percentage points. Luna has 43.8 %, with 34,215 votes, while Hayslett reached 34.2 % with 26,737 votes.
19:23 ET: Cory Mills leads over Anthony Sabatini
With 68% of the vote, Cory Mills leads his closest challenger, Anthony Sabatini, by a margin of 19 percentage points.
19:20 ET: Crist is projected to win the Democratic nomination
Former Governor Charlie Crist, with 64% of the votes counted, is defeating his Democratic challenger, Nikki Fried, by a very wide margin of 30 percentage points. The trend indicates that he will face Governor DeSantis in November.
19:05 ET: Fried vs. Crist, the Democrats decide their candidate
The Florida Democratic party is looking to end its bad streak in statewide elections this November, and defeating Ron DeSantis is the main goal of the party. Florida Democrats will decide today if Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried or former governor Charlie Crist will be the party’s nominee to challenge DeSantis. According to the polls, Crist is the frontrunner but Fried’s campaign is aiming for an electoral upset.
Crist is a decades-long politician, as he served as a Republican governor from 2007 to 2011, he defected from the GOP when it was clear he would lose the party’s primary for Senate in 2010. In 2014 Crist ran for governor again and was defeated by Rick Scott, he has been a Representative for Florida’s 13th District since 2016.
Fried became the agriculture commissioner in 2018 after winning a very tight election. Before that, she worked as a lobbyist and she founded a firm that worked in favor of the medical marihuana industry. Fried has touted her 2018 victory as the proof that she can defeat DeSantis in the fall
18:10 ET: Anna Paulina Luna seeks nomination for District 13
Anna Paulina Luna is another Republican seeking to run for Congress. She has the support of former President Donald Trump and is a favorite in the polls.
Luna spoke with El American and noted that Latinos are increasingly embracing the Republican cause, explaining that “The DNC is unabashedly radical. Our values, especially from a religious standpoint, do NOT align with the DNC.”
18:00 ET: Anthony Sabatini vs. Cory Mills, GOP looks for a candidate for District 7.
One of the most important races today in Florida is the primary election for District 7, where State Representative Anthony Sabatini, the candidate supported mostly by the MAGA movement, will be looking to win the nomination against Cory Mills, the establishment Republican candidate.
While there are 8 Republican candidates to seek this seat, Mills and Sabatini are widely leading in the polls. El American spoke with Rep. Sabatini, who explained that one of the first proposals he will support if he gets to Congress will be the impeachment of President Joe Biden.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
Contacto: [email protected]
Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.