FL-20: Former Hastings rival narrowly wins Democratic nod in Florida special election
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, the CEO of a home health care company, was on Tuesday declared the winner of the Democratic primary in the special election to succeed the late Democrat Alcee L. Hastings in Florida’s 20th District, defeating second-place finisher Dale V.C. Holness by just five votes.
The result comes more than two weeks after the Nov. 2 primary and follows machine and manual recounts, reviews of about a dozen overseas and military ballots, and legal challenges that increased Cherfilus-McCormick’s margin in the crowded election by one vote.
“This past week has been an exciting reminder of how vital our electoral process is and how every single vote counts,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement. “I am grateful to the voters of District 20 for believing in me and everyone who endorsed me in this race.”
She next faces Republican nominee Jason Mariner in the Jan. 11 special general election, when four other nonaffiliated candidates will also be on the ballot. The district, which spans Broward and Palm Beach counties, is heavily Democratic — Joe Biden carried it by 55 points last fall, according to calculations by Daily Kos Elections — making Cherfilus-McCormick the favorite. Hastings, who died in April, won a 15th term last fall by 57 points.
If she wins, she would be the first Haitian American to serve in Congress since Utah Republican Mia Love, who served two terms between 2015 and 2019.
https://rollcall.com/2021/11/16/former-hastings-rival-narrowly-wins-democratic-nod-in-florida-special-election/
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