2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida


The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of Florida, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States.
A lawsuit challenging the districts under Florida's Congressional District Boundaries Amendment was filed in 2012 and was resolved in 2015. The results of the lawsuit had major repercussions on the congressional races in Florida in 2016. The primaries were held on August 30.

Redistricting lawsuit

In 2014, Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis threw out the congressional map for violating Florida's 2010 Amendment 6 to the state Constitution, commonly called the Fair Districts Amendment. The ruling specifically applied to and. Subsequent rulings by higher courts and concluding in the Supreme Court of Florida also struck down,, and, which also necessitated redraws of varying scale to the districts surrounding them.

Results summary

District

Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida by district:

District 1

Republican Jeff Miller had represented the district since being elected in 2001. He considered running for the U.S. Senate. On July 30, 2015, Miller decided not to run for the open Senate seat and announced he would run for reelection. In March 2016, Miller announced he would not run for reelection.

Republican primary

State Senator Greg Evers had expressed his interest in running for this seat if Miller had run for the Senate.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Matt Gaetz, state representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Rebekah Johansen Bydlak, activist
  • Cris Dosev, retired U.S. Marine officer and real estate developer
  • Greg Evers, state senator
  • Brian Frazier, retired U.S. Navy officer
  • Rich Gazlay, businessman
  • Mark Wichern, business consultant
  • James Zumwalt, retired U.S. Navy officer and grandson of Elmo Zumwalt
    Withdrawn
  • Gary Fairchild
  • John Mills, retired U.S. Navy pilot
    Declined
  • Jeff Miller, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

In the August 30 primary, Matt Gaetz defeated his six rivals for the nomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Steven Specht, law student and former air force intelligence officer
    Withdrawn
  • Amanda Kondrat'yev, Public Relations Officer at the University of West Florida

District 2

Redistricting significantly altered the 2nd, mainly by shifting most of Tallahassee's African American residents to the 5th District. On paper, this made the 2nd heavily Republican. Democrat Gwen Graham represented the district for one term after being elected in 2014, when she beat Republican incumbent Steve Southerland. She did not run for re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

The primary results were too close to call as of September 1, 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Dunn won the primary on August 30, 2016.

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Rob Lapham, retired IT executive

District 3

Republican Ted Yoho had represented the district since being elected in 2012, and ran unopposed. Businessman Ken McGurn also ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Nominee

  • Ed Emery, retired federal probation officer

District 4

Republican Ander Crenshaw had represented the district since being elected in 2000. On April 14, 2016, he announced that he would not run for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

won the primary on August 30, 2016.

Democratic primary

Former Jacksonville City Councilman and former state representative Eric Smith announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination. On June 22, 2016, Smith announced that he was withdrawing from the race, leaving no Democratic candidates two days before the close of filing.
Dave Bruderly, an environmental engineer who was the nominee for Florida's 6th congressional district in 2004 and 2006, qualified on the last day of filing, and thus was nominated unopposed.

Candidates

Nominee

District 5

Democrat Corrine Brown had represented the district and its various permutations since 1993. The court-ordered redistricting significantly altered her district. She had previously represented a district stretching from Jacksonville to Orlando. The new map pushed the 5th well to the north and west, and made it a more compact district stretching from Tallahassee to Jacksonville.

Democratic primary

In July 2016, Brown and her chief of staff were indicted on charges of fraud.

Candidates

Nominee

Results

In the Democratic primary—the real contest in this district—she was defeated by former state senator Al Lawson of Tallahassee.

Republican primary

2014 Republican nominee Glo Smith and 2014 Republican candidate Thuy Lowe initially both ran again. Lowe later switched from this district to a campaign for the 10th district. Hence Scurry-Smith ran unopposed on primary day, August 30, 2016.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Gloreatha Scurry-Smith, businesswoman, former staff aide to Jennifer Carroll and nominee for this seat in 2014
    Withdrawn
  • Thuy Lowe, candidate for this seat in 2014

District 6

Republican Ron DeSantis had represented the district since being elected in 2012. DeSantis ran for the U.S. Senate, initially creating an open seat, although on June 22, 2016, he withdrew from the Senate race to run for re-election to the House.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Bill McCullough, businessman
    Eliminated in primary
  • Jay McGovern, US Navy veteran
  • George Pappas, attorney
  • Dwayne Taylor, state representative

District 7

Republican John Mica had represented the 7th District since 1992. However, since the Florida Supreme Court's 2015 redistricting decision, Florida's 7th District now includes all of Seminole County and northern Orange County, including downtown Orlando, Winter Park, and the main campus of the University of Central Florida. In 2012, when Mica ran for re-election, he won with 59% of the vote, his smallest margin of victory in twenty years.

Republican primary

Mica ran for re-election and wound up only facing Mark Busch in the primary election after John Morning ended his campaign in November 2015.

Candidates

Nominee
  • John Mica, incumbent U.S. Representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Mark Busch, small business owner
    Withdrawn
  • John Morning, army veteran

Democratic primary

Banker Bill Phillips announced a run for the seat on October 19, 2015, but suspended his campaign in February 2016, and ended it in April.
Stephanie Murphy, a businesswoman, Rollins College professor and former U.S. Defense Department national security specialist, entered the race on June 23, 2016, and ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Candidates

Nominee

District 8

Republican Bill Posey had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 15th district from 2009 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. He ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

District 9

Democrat Alan Grayson had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 8th district from 2009 to 2011, prior to the decennial redistricting. On July 9, 2015, Grayson announced he would run for U.S. Senate in 2016 rather than seek re-election. Grayson lost the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat to 18th congressional district Representative Patrick Murphy, who defeated Grayson and was declared the winner on August 30, 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Soto was declared the winner of the Democratic primary for the 9th District on August 30, 2016.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Wayne Liebnitzky, engineer
    Eliminated in primary
  • Wanda Rentas, vice mayor of Kissimmee
    Declined
  • Mike La Rosa, state representative

District 10

Republican Daniel Webster had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 8th district from 2011 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. However, after redistricting made the 10th substantially more Democratic, Webster opted to run in the neighboring 11th District, which included a slice of his former territory.

Republican primary

Candidates

Geoff LaGarde withdrew his name from the race on June 24, and endorsed Thuy Lowe for the nomination. Lowe was declared the nominee, and no Republican primary was held.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Thuy Lowe
    Withdrawn
  • Geoff LaGarde
    Declined
  • Daniel Webster, incumbent U.S. Representative

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Results

Demings was declared the winner of the Democratic primary for the 10th District on August 30, 2016.

District 11

Republican Rich Nugent represented the district since being elected in 2011. He did not seek re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Daniel Webster, incumbent U.S. Representative for the 10th district
    Eliminated in primary
  • Justin Grabelle, Rich Nugent's former chief-of-staff
    Declined
  • Rich Nugent, incumbent U.S. Representative

Results

Webster was declared the primary winner on August 30, 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Dave Koller, businessman and nominee for this seat in 2014

District 12

Republican Gus Bilirakis had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 9th district from 2007 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Robert Tager, attorney

District 13

Republican David Jolly had represented the district since being elected in a special election, 2014|special election] in 2014. Jolly ran for the U.S. Senate, initially creating an open seat, though, on June 17, 2016, he withdrew from the Senate race to run for re-election to the House, citing "unfinished business."

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Charlie Crist, former Republican-turned-independent Governor of Florida, independent candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, and Democratic nominee for Governor in 2014
    Withdrawn
  • Eric Lynn, political consultant and former White House Middle East policy adviser and Pentagon official
    Declined
  • Dwight Dudley, state representative
  • Rick Kriseman, Mayor of St. Petersburg
  • Mary Mulhern, former Tampa city councilwoman
  • Darden Rice, St. Petersburg city councilwoman

District 14

Democrat Kathy Castor had represented the district since being elected in 2012. She previously represented the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Businesswoman Christine Quinn challenged Castor as a Republican.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Christine Quinn, businesswoman
    Declined
  • Mike Prendergast, former chief of staff to Governor Rick Scott and nominee for this seat in 2010

District 15

Republican Dennis A. Ross had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 12th district from 2011 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Jim Lange challenged Ross as a Democrat.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Jim Lange, business consultant

District 16

Republican Vern Buchanan had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 16th district from 2009 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Buchanan ran for re-election. Buchanan had previously considered running for the U.S. Senate instead.

Republican primary

If Buchanan had not run for re-election, potential Republican candidates expected to be interested in running included Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, State Senator Nancy Detert, former state senator Pat Neal, Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett, State Representative Greg Steube, and Sarasota Sheriff Tom Knight.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Vern Buchanan, incumbent U.S. Representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • James Satcher

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Jan Schneider, attorney
    Eliminated in primary
  • Brent King, airline pilot

District 17

Republican Tom Rooney had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 13th district from 2007 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Rooney considered running for the U.S. Senate, but decided to run for re-election instead.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • April Freeman, businesswoman and nominee for the 19th district in 2014

District 18

Democrat Patrick Murphy had represented the district since being elected in 2012. On March 23, 2015, he announced that he would run for U.S. Senate rather than reelection, creating an open seat. Murphy defeated Alan Grayson in the primary on August 30, 2016, and faced Marco Rubio in the November general election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

General election

Results

Mast defeated Perkins in the general election.

District 19

Republican Curt Clawson had represented the district since being elected in a special election in 2014. He was mentioned as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016. In May 2016, Clawson announced he would not seek a second term.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Robert Neeld
    Declined
  • April Freeman, businesswoman and nominee for this seat in 2014

District 20

Democrat Alcee Hastings had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 23rd district from 1993 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Hastings announced in November 2014 that he would run for re-election in 2016.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Gary Stein

District 21

Democrat Ted Deutch had represented the district since being elected in 2012. He previously represented the 19th district from 2010 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting. Deutch considered running for the U.S. Senate, but decided to run for re-election instead. If Deutch had run for Senate, State Senator Joseph Abruzzo was interested in running for this seat.
As a result of 2015's statewide redistricting, incumbent Deutch effectively swapped seats with Lois Frankel, then incumbent of the 22nd District. Deutch would seek election to the 22nd District seat while Frankel sought election to District 21.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Paul Spain

District 22

Democrat Lois Frankel had represented the district since being elected in 2012. As a result of 2015's statewide redistricting, incumbent Frankel would effectively swap seats with Ted Deutch, the current incumbent of the 21st District. Frankel sought election to the 21st District seat while Deutch sought election to District 22.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

businessman Joseph Bensmihen was challenging Frankel as a Republican. Physician Marc Freeman had also filed to run as a Republican, but switched to run in the 18th district.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Andrea Leigh McGee
    Withdrawn
  • Joseph Bensmihen, businessman
  • Marc Freeman, physician

District 23

Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz had represented the district since being elected in 2012. She previously represented the 20th district from 2005 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Candidates

  • Joe Kaufman, counter-terrorism researcher, founder of Americans Against Hate, candidate for this seat 2012 and nominee in 2014
    Eliminated in primary
  • Marty Feigenbaum, attorney and public arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

District 24

Democrat Frederica Wilson had represented the district since being elected in 2012. She previously represented the 17th district from 2011 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Frederica Wilson, incumbent U.S. Representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Randal Hill, retired NFL player and former U.S. Homeland Security agent

General election

Results

Democrat Frederica Wilson was unopposed in the general election.

District 25

Republican Mario Díaz-Balart had represented the district since 2012. He previously represented the 21st district from 2011 to 2013, as well as a different version of the 25th from 2003 to 2011, prior to the decennial redistricting.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Alina Valdes, physician

District 26

Republican Carlos Curbelo had represented the district since being elected in 2014.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

District 27

Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen represented the district since being elected in 2012. She previously represented the 18th district from 1989 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Scott Fuhrman, businessman
    Eliminated in primary
  • Frank Perez, US Army veteran
  • Adam Sackrin, attorney