OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republicans managed to pick up a House seat in Florida that has been in Democratic hands for years.
Anna Paulina Luna, a 33-year-old Air Force veteran, is projected to win Florida’s 13th Congressional District, defeating Democrat Eric Lynn, reports noted late Tuesday. Luna took to Twitter to thank her supporters after her race was called, pointing to her grassroots campaign as being instrumental in beating a Democratic opponent who outspent her by a lot during the election cycle.
“Knocked 50,000 doors Made 89,000 phone calls Outspent 2:1 in primary Outspent 12:1 in general Today we made history. My name is Anna Paulina Luna and I am going to be the next representative for FL-13! Thank you Pinellas! I look forward to serving you in DC!” she wrote.
Decision Desk HQ projects Anna Paulina Luna (R) wins election to the U.S. House in Florida’s 13th Congressional District.
D to R Flip.#DecisionMade: 7:56pm EST
Follow more results here: https://t.co/ogd3AkeoyM pic.twitter.com/G7SRbFcnDa
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 9, 2022
Knocked 50,000 doors
Made 89,000 phone calls
Outspent 2:1 in primary
Outspent 12:1 in general
Today we made history.
My name is Anna Paulina Luna and I am going to be the next representative for FL-13!
Thank you Pinellas! I look forward to serving you in DC!— Anna Paulina Luna (@VoteAPL) November 9, 2022
The Western Journal added:
Luna secured a margin of victory of roughly 8.6 percent with 95 percent of the vote counted, a development that could display the nascent strength of the Republican Party in Florida. Florida’s 13th district was formerly represented by Charlie Crist, a Democrat who resigned his office to focus on a gubernatorial campaign against Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis, meanwhile, easily beat Crist, a former Florida Republican governor himself before he flipped to the Democratic Party.
DeSantis was in a fantastic spot heading into Tuesday night after raising a record-breaking $200 million for his re-election campaign. By comparison, Crist only raised around $31 million, Politico reported. DeSantis has only spent around $100,000 on his campaign which means he still has around $90 million left in the bank.
BREAKING: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) wins re-election in a blowout against opponent Charlie Crist (D). pic.twitter.com/QF3kHdhriS
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 9, 2022
BREAKING: Governor Ron DeSantis (R) wins re-election as Florida Governor. pic.twitter.com/FILd7Swa8R
— Election Wizard 🇺🇸 (@ElectionWiz) November 9, 2022
Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro noted that DeSantis’ 2022 victory was much larger than his 2018 win.
“Ron DeSantis won his last gubernatorial race by 30,000 votes. He turned that into a historically large victory and along with the rest of the state GOP, turned a heretofore purple state bright red. Good things to remember for Republicans going forward,” he wrote.
Ron DeSantis won his last gubernatorial race by 30,000 votes. He turned that into a historically large victory and along with the rest of the state GOP, turned a heretofore purple state bright red. Good things to remember for Republicans going forward.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 9, 2022
Politico noted that the extra $90 million could be used for a possible 2024 presidential campaign.
“If you look at where the money is coming from, it’s indicative of Gov. DeSantis being seen by national donors as the de facto frontrunner for president,” Republican lobbyist Slater Bayliss said.
“I think people on the left do not think their candidates sell out, and on the right we think ours cut deals, and are more pragmatic,” he said. “Former President Trump’s whole brand on the Republican side was that he does not sell out.”
“Gov. DeSantis has built on that,” he said, “And is taken more seriously by many Republican donors.”
Politico noted further:
Other governors who have taken in massive hauls in recent election cycles include self-financers like Meg Whitman, whose $176 million during the 2010 California gubernatorial campaign included $144 million of her own money. Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker nearly entirely self-funded his $176 million 2018 campaign and $133 million reelection bid.
Texas Republican Greg Abbot, meanwhile, raised $116 million for his 2022 reelection bid. But Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke — who has outraised him since the summer — has forced Abbott to outspend his opponent by wide margins. Now, Abbott is left with less cash on hand than O’Rourke for the second reporting period in a row, with his overall coffers hitting a nearly two-decade low.
Abbott won a third term Tuesday evening, beating Democratic challenger Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke, a former U.S. congressman and Democratic Senate candidate.
“It has long been said that ‘money is the mother’s milk of politics,’” Florida Republican consultant David Johnson said. “The DeSantis team has built a national dairy farm-to-table operation in just four years. We have seen large networked donor operations on a grand scale operate in the past, to some great effect.”
“Team DeSantis is more notable because it is small, fierce and reaping such huge amounts,” he said.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida also defeated his Democrat challenger Rep. Val Demings. InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery, who conducted a final poll on the race for FOX, warned that Rubio was headed for a big win.
“Demings is performing better but still loses among every age group. It is obvious that President Biden’s very weak approval rating in Florida is likely a weight on both Democratic nominees” in Florida’s high-profile Senate and Governor’s races, he said.
