In Florida's congressional primaries Tuesday, there were nail-biters, landslides and bitter disappointments aplenty -- but frankly, few surprises. Here are the races of note.
CD 1 -- Matt Gaetz (R)
State Sen. Greg Evers, state Rep. Matt Gaetz were always the favorites for this Northwest Florida seat, and sure enough, Gaetz -- son of former Senate President Don Gaetz -- beat Evers by 15 points in CD 1, and five others by more than that.
Evers was considered one of the state Senate's more-moderate Republicans, despite his predilection for sponsoring National Rifle Association-friendly legislation. He got that reputation, at least in part, because of anti-prison privatization votes and his alliance with Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who has consistently been a thorn in the side to Senate GOP leaders. More conservative Gaetz, a lawyer, has been a rising start in the Florida House, particularly during the past two years.
CD 1 is a Republican seat all the way. Gaetz is likely to succeed U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who announced in March 15 years in Congress is enough.
CD 2 -- Neal Dunn (R), but recount likely for the Democrats
Dr. Neal Dunn and Mary Thomas fought one of the closest contests of the night in the GOP primary, with Dunn coming out on top by 2 percentage points, 41.38 percent to 39.29 percent. Republicans are hoping to flip this seat currently held by Democrat Gwen Graham, who is headed to the sidelines after a single term. Thomas, a conservative, was looking to be the first elected Indian-American woman in Congress. She was endorsed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, head of the House Freedom Caucus. Dunn, whom Thomas referred to throughout the campaign as "a professional lobbyist," is a founding partner in Summit Bank, active in the Panhandle.
The two Democrats trying to keep the seat blue fought an even closer battle: attorney and Marines veteran Walter Dartland and retired Department of Children and Families worker from Live Oak, Steve Crapps. This race is likely headed for a recount, although -- with 50.11 percent of the vote for Dartland and 49.89 percent for Crapps -- it hadn't been called by midnight.
The GOP should be able to pick up this seat which, with redistricting, is one of the few that now skews in the Republicans' favor.
CD 4 -- John Rutherford (R)
In another full candidate slate, John Rutherford, with 38.66 percent of the vote, ran away from the field. State Rep. Lake Ray was second, with 20.09 percent, followed by Hans Tanzler III with 18.98 percent. All candidates were well established in Duval County, where Ander Crenshaw is retiring. The seat is bright red, should be a slam dunk for Rutherford in November.
CD 5 -- Al Lawson (D)
Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, under federal indictment and a victim of redistricting, was never going to have an easy time of it and she knew it. After Tuesday, she knows for sure that after more than two decades in Congress, she won't be returning to Washington. She was the only incumbent congressional member in either party to lose Tuesday.
Al Lawson, who was making his third bid for Congress, beat Brown by more than 9 percentage points. He represented the 6th District in the Florida Senate from 2000 through 2010. Before that, from 1982-2000, he was a member of the Florida House.
The congressional district now, instead of winding through North Florida from Jacksonville to Orlando, heads west through parts of Leon County. Democrats nevertheless should be able to keep the seat.
CD 7 -- John Mica (R)
Democrats seem to think they can build some momentum here against longtime Republican Congressman John Mica. The problem is, they didn’t find a top-tier candidate. And now it's obvious flipping this seat to Democratic isn't going to be easy. Mica flew to victory Tuesday 77.17 percent over challenger Mark Busch's 22.85 percent.
Don't expect Dems to be too competitive for this seat until Mica retires, perhaps in 2018 or 2020.
CD 9 -- Darren Soto (D)
Alan Grayson’s decision to run for the Senate opened up this Democratic-leaning seat in Central Florida. It looked early on like a close race between physician Dena Grayson who just married the congressman and state legislative veteran Darren Soto. Though polls put Soto third behind Grayson and Susannah Randolph, Soto won by 8 points over Randolph and 9 points over Grayson. Republicans are unlikely to capture this seat in November.
CD 10 -- Val Demings (D)
After redistricting, Democrats are a lead-pipe cinch to pick up this Central Florida seat. And the Democrat who won the CD 10 primary Tuesday left no doubt she is the favorite. Val Demings, who gave Dan Webster a scare in 2012, sailed to victory by 27 points in a four-candidate field.
CD 18 -- Brian Mast (R), Randy Perkins (D)
In the six-candidate Republican CD 18 primary, one of the day's main events and a battleground district, disabled veteran Brian Mast pulled off a comfortable win against his closest rival, Rebecca Negron, wife of Senate President-Designate Joe Negron, 37.98 percent to 25.62 percent. The winner will face Democratic millionaire businessman Randy Perkins, who self-financed his campaign and has claimed he's only just begun to spend. Perkins won handily in a three-candidate field with 60.34 percent of the vote.
CD 23 -- Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)
There was no major win in Florida for progressives against the Democratic establishment. In one of the most watched congressional races nationwide, preliminary results at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday show Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, controversial former Democratic Party chair, leading progressive challenger Tim Canova in CD 23 by 13 percentage points.
Bernie Sanders backed Canova in a Miami area district that overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary. Some progressives say the fact that the race came even that close is a win of sorts for their movement.
Republican Joe Kaufman, back for a third run, won his primary. But CD 23 is a rock-solid Democratic seat.
CD 19 -- Francis Rooney (R)
Curt Clawson’s unexpected retirement from Congress left Republicans scrambling to replace him in this secure GOP district. The district had three solid choices, but voters far and away preferred businessman and GOP fundraising powerhouse Francis Rooney.
Rooney, who served as ambassador to the Vatican, won 52.73 percent of the vote to Chauncey Goss's 29.88 percent. Dan Bongino pulled in 17.39 percent of the vote.
CD 26 -- Joe Garcia (D)
Drooling over picking up this seat after redistricting turned it into a super challenge for Republicans, national Democratic leaders chose Annette Taddeo to carry their banner. But Taddeo underwhelmed and her campaign was fraught with problems, even as the Democratic establishment tried to coronate her.
Enter Joe Garcia, who held the seat before Republican incumbent Carlos Curbelo came along. Garcia had a solid ground game and friends in Congress who supported him. He put together a victory Tuesday, beating Taddeo narrowly, 51.26 percent to 48.74 percent.
It was Taddeo's fourth unsuccessful try for elected office.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
