Yesterday Republican David Jolly beat Democrat Alex Sink by less than 4,000 votes to win the Florida Congressional seat held by his old boss, the late Rep. Bill Young. Jolly won with 88,294 of the votes, 48.43 percent; Alex Sink garnered 84,877 votes, 46.56 percent. Libertarian candidate, Lucas Overby, received 4.8 percent.
The special election in Pinellas County received national attention and campaign dollars from all over the country. The district has nearly a 50-50 split between registered Republicans and Democrats. While Young, a Republican, had held the seat for four decades, the district had narrowly voted for Barack Obama in the past two presidential elections.
For both parties, the race was considered a test of the popular support for the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare.” With Jolly winning, you can count other GOP Congressional candidates following his game plan.
For Sink, this was her second close defeat in four years. She narrowly lost to Gov. Rick Scott in 2010. This probably signals the end of her political career.
Here is the message Sink emailed to her supporters:
While tonight was not the result we were hoping for, I am proud of the race we have run and so grateful for the countless Pinellas residents, volunteers and supporters who put their faith in our campaign.
I have congratulated David Jolly and wish him the best success in representing the voices of Pinellas in Congress. Rick, I want to thank you personally for all that you have done and for standing by me these past months.
My life has always been shaped by a deep commitment to service and problem solving, and I look forward to finding new ways and new avenues to continue practicing these values in pursuit of doing good for our community, our state and our country.
Thank you for all that you do.
Alex
Republican Jamie Miller wrote his analysis for Context Florida: “Jeb Bush came to the rescue in Congressional District 13 race.”