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Besieged Republican Ross Spano lost a main challenge in Florida’s 15th Congressional District to Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin.
The results of another GOP primary in the Sunshine State set up a much-anticipated game between Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell this fall in a Field of battle that changed from red to blue in 2018.
Meanwhile, in Wyoming, former Republican Cynthia Lummis notched a victory with CNN projecting she will win the GOP primary for an open Senate seat, a result that creates an opportunity to strengthen the ranks of Republican women senators. .
Spano lost a GOP primary on Tuesday night after being embroiled in ethics issues in his first term, which created an opening for his opponent’s attacks.
Last November, Spano said he planned to “cooperate fully with the Justice Department,” after the House Ethics Committee announced that at the department’s request, it would defer a review of the allegations. which Spano may have received irregular loans beyond the federal campaign. contribution limits.
Spano said at the time: “We admitted that mistakes had been made with regard to campaign loans, but these mistakes were completely unintentional and unintentional,” adding: “We are satisfied that after examination the ministry Justice will see it that way as well. “
His main opponent Franklin took up the issue, with a campaign ad superimposing the word “CRIMINAL” in all capital letters on an image of Spano. Another ad said in a voiceover, “Whether Spano is incompetent or corrupt, he shouldn’t be your congressman.”
Spano, meanwhile, campaigned as a “staunch ally of Trump” and his campaign accused Franklin of not being a true conservative.
Spano had also been endorsed by the three main Republican House leaders: Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise and GOP House Conference Chair Liz Cheney.
Franklin’s campaign was bolstered by the endorsement of one of Spano’s House Republican colleagues: GOP Representative Matt Gaetz, who represents the state’s 1st Congressional District.
Inside Elections, a non-partisan political analysis published by CNN political analyst Nathan Gonzales, ranks the 15th District as a Republican in the November general election.
General election match in a competitive district
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez will face Rookie Democratic Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in what is expected to be a competitive general election race.
CNN projects that Gimenez, who had a prominent rig during the coronavirus crisis, won the GOP primary for Florida’s 26th District on Tuesday.
Mucarsel-Powell changed seats in 2018 after facing GOP incumbent Carlos Curbelo in a district that voted Hillary Clinton by 16 points.
Gimenez raised more than $ 1.1 million as of July 29, but the outgoing Democrat raised significantly more with a gain of nearly $ 4 million on the same date, according to FEC data.
Gonzales rates the 26th District as Tilt Democratic – and it is one of the few races where recent ranking changes have shifted in favor of the GOP.
Wyoming on Track to Help Build Republican Women’s Ranks in Senate
Cynthia Lummis, who represented Wyoming’s general seat in the House from 2009 to 2017, won a GOP primary for the Senate race to fill the seat vacated by Senator Mike Enzi.
Lummis, who was the only woman in the House Freedom Caucus while she was in Congress, competed against a crowded group of Republican candidates but led the field in both name recognition and fundraising. She also boasted of a long list of approvals, including from Trump and Wyoming GOP Sens. Enzi and John Barrasso.
With her main victory, Lummis will be well positioned to clinch the Senate seat in the Deep Red State in the fall. That would weigh down the ranks of Republican senators, whose numbers are likely to drop with four of the nine women in the conference considered vulnerable in 2020.
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