Florida held its primary elections Tuesday night, and there are a few key takeaways.
Democratic Gubernatorial Primary:
Former Florida Governor and Congressman Charlie Crist and Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried competed for the Democratic nomination to face off against Governor Ron DeSantis.
Crist was favored throughout most of the race, but a poll was released last week from the University of Northern Florida that showed Fried ahead by a 4% margin, leading some to believe that the race was tightening.
In the end, Crist won by a whopping 24.5 percent margin with more than 95 percent of the vote in.
Fried conceded the race last night and threw her support behind Charlie Crist.
We have to make Ron DeSantis a one-term governor and now that means rallying behind @CharlieCrist.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) August 24, 2022
Crist, for his part, gave a short but triumphant message on Twitter, saying that he was ‘proud’ to be the Democratic nominee.
I’m Charlie Crist and I’m proud to be your Florida Democratic nominee that will defeat Ron DeSantis this November.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) August 24, 2022
Democratic Attorney General Race:
Three candidates faced off to decide who would face Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody in November.
Daniel Uhfelder outraised the other two candidates, but it didn’t appear to help him as he lost by a considerable margin to former prosecutor Aramis Ayala.
Ayala captured 44.8 percent of the vote, with more than 95 percent of the vote in.
Uhfelder trailed by 16.6 percent, while Jim Lewis came in third place with 27.1 percent of the vote.
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Republican Agricultural Commissioner:Â
In the contest for Agricultural Commissioner on the Republican side, Former State Senate Speaker Wilton Simpson faced off against transportation manager James Shaw.
Simpson raised $9 million, an impressive amount of money for the race.
With 95 percent of the vote in, Simpson captured 64.7 percent of the vote to Shaw’s 35.3 percent.
Democrat Agricultural Commissioner:
On the Democratic side, three candidates ran to see if they could retain the last statewide seat held by Democrats in Florida.
Naomi Blumer was the early frontrunner but came under fire after Facebook posts were uncovered where she expressed pro-life and anti-gay marriage views.
Still, Naomi Blumer won with 50.4 percent of the vote, while Ryan Morales captured 30.3 percent of the vote, and J.R Gaillot got 19.3 percent of the vote.
Florida’s 7th Congressional District (R)
In Florida’s 7th Congressional District, conservative firebrand Anthony Sabatini faced off against Cory Mills.
Both candidates held themselves out as America First Trump supporters, but Sabatini adopted a more aggressive campaign style, escalating the “Fire Fauci” tagline and saying that Republicans should arrest Fauci.
Sabatini was endorsed by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fl. Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. while Mills was endorsed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Oh.
In the end, Sabatini’s aggressive campaign style didn’t pay off as he lost by a double-digit margin, getting 21.1 percent of the vote to Mills 33.8 percent.
In typical Sabatini-esque fashion, his parting message to Florida voters was defiant as he said that the ‘swamp won’ as the results started coming in.
Tonight the Swamp won (with a $1.6 million dollar influx of fake news pieces in the last 14 days)
Yet—I will never stop fighting for the America First movement
Proud of the work Team Sabatini put into this & my family for their support!
This is just the beginning—stay tuned 🇺🇸
— Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) August 24, 2022
Florida’s 11th Congressional District (R)
In Florida’s 11th Congressional District, controversial conservative activist Laura Loomer was attempting to unseat Republican powerhouse and incumbent Daniel Webster, (R-Fl.)
Webster has been an institution in Florida politics, serving 28 years in the Florida state legislature and 12 years in Congress.
Still, Loomer gave him a run for his money, losing by a 6.8% margin with over 95 percent of the vote in.
Florida’s 13th Congressional District (R)
In Florida’s 13th Congressional District, three Republicans ran to replace outgoing Representative and Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist.
The seat now favors Republicans due to redistricting that was set in motion this year.
Trump-endorsed Anna Paulina Luna won the contest with 44.5 percent of the vote, while Kevin Hayslett trailed with 33.6 percent of the vote.
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