Businessman Paul Spain hopes the third time’s the charm as he has launched another bid to serve in Congress.
Spain made his political debut in 2014 when he was the Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., who was up for a second term. Frankel beat Spain 58 percent to 42 percent in the Democratic district, improving on her 2012 performance when she beat former Florida House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, 55 percent to 45 percent.
In June 2015, Spain jumped into the crowded Republican primary field to replace then U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., who was leaving the House to run for the U.S. Senate. But Spain reversed course in March 2016, getting out of the CD 18 race to seek a rematch with Frankel. After the latest round of redistricting, Spain lost by an even larger margin that he had two years before. Frankel won with 63 percent while Spain pulled 35 percent and 2 percent opted for Michael Trout who was running with no party affiliation.
Spain is now hoping to take on U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the top Democrat on the House Ethics Committee and the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Deutch won big in 2016, taking 59 percent while Republican Andrea Leigh McGee garnered 41 percent. In 2014, Deutch won with an even larger margin since there was no other candidate on the ballot though Trout rounded up 575 votes as a write-in candidate.
As he gears up to run, Spain should have competition on the Republican side. McGee is angling for a rematch with Deutch while Javier Manjarres from the conservative Shark Tank site is exploring entering the race.
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