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 (Fair Districts 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 FL's 5th congressional district and FL's 10th congressional district. Subsequent rulings by higher courts and concluding in the Supreme Court of Florida also struck down FL's 13th congressional district, FL's 21st congressional district, FL's 22nd congressional district and FL's 26th congressional district, which also necessitated redraws of varying scale to the districts surrounding them.

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.

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Withdrawn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.

Nominee

 * Steven Specht, law student and former air force intelligence officer, ran unopposed on primary day.

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.

Nominee

 * Walter Dartland, former deputy attorney general

Eliminated in primary

 * Steve Crapps, tree farmer

Declined

 * Gwen Graham, incumbent U.S. Representative
 * Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, state representative

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

Nominee

 * Neal Dunn, urologist

Eliminated in primary

 * Ken Sukhia, former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
 * Mary Thomas, general counsel for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs

Withdrawn

 * Jeff Moran, custom car business owner and retired police officer

Declined

 * Marti Coley, state representative
 * Matt Gaetz, state representative (running for FL-01)
 * Steve Southerland, former U.S. Representative
 * Pete Williams, attorney, former statewide prosecutor, and nominee for Leon County State Attorney in 2012

Results
Dunn won the primary on August 30, 2016.

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.

Nominee

 * Ted Yoho, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * John Rutherford, former sheriff of Jacksonville

Eliminated in primary

 * Stephen Kaufman, public relations manager
 * Ed Malin
 * Bill McClure, St. John's County commissioner
 * Deborah Katz Pueschel, perennial candidate
 * Lake Ray, state representative
 * Hans Tanzler III, former US assistant attorney, attorney, farmer, and son of former mayor of Jacksonville Hans Tanzler

Declined

 * Aaron Bean, State Senator
 * Richard Clark, former Jacksonville City councilmember
 * Michael Corrigan, Jacksonville Tax Collector
 * Ander Crenshaw, incumbent U.S. Representative
 * Lenny Curry, Mayor of Jacksonville
 * Jay Fant, State Representative
 * Jerry Holland, Duval County Property Appraiser
 * Mike Holland, Jacksonville Supervisor of Elections

Results
John Rutherford 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 ran unopposed.

Nominee

 * Dave Bruderly, environmental engineer and nominee for Florida's 6th congressional district in 2004 & 2006

Withdrawn

 * Eric B. Smith, former state representative

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.

Nominee

 * Al Lawson, state senator, nominee for this seat in 2012 and candidate in 2010

Eliminated in primary

 * Corrine Brown, incumbent U.S. Representative
 * LJ Holloway

Declined

 * Alvin Brown, former Mayor of Jacksonville
 * Audrey Gibson, state senator
 * Andrew Gillum, Mayor of Tallahassee
 * Tony Hill, former state senator
 * Mia Jones, State Representative

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.

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.

Nominee

 * Ron DeSantis, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Fred Costello, state representative
 * G.G. Galloway, real estate broker

Withdrawn

 * Sandy Adams, former U.S. Representative
 * Malcolm Anthony, attorney
 * Adam Barringer, former mayor of New Smyrna Beach
 * James Jusick, gun-parts manufacturer and retired police officer
 * Ric Keller, former U.S. Representative
 * Pat Mooney, direct-mail consultant and brother of Congressman Alex Mooney
 * Brandon Patty, political consultant
 * David Santiago, state representative (running for re-election)

Declined

 * Dorothy Hukill, state senator
 * Travis Hutson, state senator
 * Mark Miner, former St. Johns County Commissioner
 * Doc Renuart, former state representative
 * John Rutherford, Duval County Sheriff

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.

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.

Nominee

 * Stephanie Murphy, businesswoman, Rollins College professor and former U.S. Defense Department national security specialist

Withdrawn

 * Bill Phillips, banker

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.

Nominee

 * Bill Posey, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Corry Westbrook, former legislative director of the National Wildlife Federation

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.

Nominee

 * Darren Soto, state senator

Eliminated in primary

 * Valleri Crabtree, professor and former Chair of the Osceola County Democratic Committee
 * Dena Minning Grayson, biochemist and medical doctor
 * Susannah Randolph, district director for Rep. Grayson

Withdrawn

 * Ricardo Rangel, former state representative (withdrew May 16)

Declined

 * Val Demings, former Orlando Police Chief and nominee for the 10th district in 2012
 * Alan Grayson, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for Senate)

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

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.

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.

Nominee

 * Thuy Lowe

Withdrawn

 * Geoff LaGarde

Declined

 * Daniel Webster, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Val Demings, former Orlando Police Chief and nominee for this seat in 2012

Eliminated in primary

 * Fatima Fahmy, attorney
 * Bob Poe, former chair of the Florida Democratic Party
 * Geraldine Thompson, state senator

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 (it was numbered as the 5th district from 2011 to 2013, prior to the decennial redistricting). He did not seek re-election.

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.

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.

Nominee

 * Gus Bilirakis, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Robert Tager, attorney

District 13
Republican David Jolly had represented the district since being elected in a 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."

Nominee

 * David Jolly, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Mark Bircher, commercial pilot, retired United States Marine Corps Brigadier General, candidate for the seat in the 2014 special election

Declined

 * Rick Baker, former mayor of St. Petersburg
 * Jeff Brandes, state senator (running for re-election)
 * George Cretekos, Mayor of Clearwater
 * Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County Sheriff (running for re-election)
 * Frank Hibbard, former mayor of Clearwater
 * Jack Latvala, state senator
 * Susan Latvala, former Pinellas County Commissioner
 * Ash Mason, former staffer to Sen. Marco Rubio
 * Kathleen Peters, state representative and candidate for the seat in 2014
 * Karen Seel, Pinellas County Commissioner (running for re-election)

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 (running for state house)

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.

Nominee

 * Kathy Castor, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * Dennis Ross, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * Vern Buchanan, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * James Satcher

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.

Nominee

 * Tom Rooney, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * Randy Perkins, founder and CEO of Ashbritt

Eliminated in primary

 * Jonathan Chane, attorney (endorsed Perkins in general election)
 * John Xuna, scientist, engineer and Independent candidate for 22nd district in 2002

Withdrawn

 * Melissa McKinlay, Palm Beach County Commissioner
 * Priscilla Taylor, Palm Beach County Commissioner and former state representative

Declined

 * Joseph Abruzzo, state senator
 * Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County State Attorney and former state senator
 * Jeff Clemens, state senator (endorsed McKinlay)
 * Chris Dzadovsky, St. Lucie County Commissioner
 * Dave Kerner, state representative
 * Patrick Murphy, incumbent U.S. Representative (running for U.S. Senate)

Nominee

 * Brian Mast, former U.S. Army bomb technician

Eliminated in primary

 * Carl J. Domino, former state representative and nominee for this seat in 2014
 * Mark Freeman, physician
 * Rick Kozell, attorney
 * Rebecca Negron, Martin County School Board member
 * Noelle Nikpour, Republican strategist and Fox News commentator

Withdrawn

 * Tod Mowery, St. Lucie County Commissioner
 * Rick Roth, farmer and former Vice President of the Florida Farm Bureau
 * Paul Spain, financial advisor and nominee for the 22nd district in 2014
 * Carla Spalding, MSN, RN and Navy veteran (independent candidate)

Declined

 * Dan Bongino, former United States Secret Service agent, nominee for U.S. Senate from Maryland in 2012 and nominee for MD-06 in 2014
 * Bill Castle, general counsel to Senator Orrin Hatch
 * Gayle Harrell, state representative and candidate for 16th district in 2008
 * Reed Hartman, former president of the Florida Farm Bureau's State Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Group
 * Belinda Keiser, vice chancellor at Keiser University
 * K.C. Ingram Traylor, radio show host and community advocate
 * Stephen Leighton, former district director for U.S. Representative Tom Rooney
 * Patrick Rooney, Jr., state Representative and brother of U.S. Representative Tom Rooney
 * Rob Siedlecki, attorney and 2014 State House candidate
 * Doug Smith, Martin County Commissioner
 * William Snyder, Martin County sheriff and former state representative
 * Calvin Turnquest, former Tequesta Councilman and candidate for the seat in 2014
 * Gary Uber, businessman

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.

Nominee

 * Francis Rooney, businessman and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican

Eliminated in primary

 * Dan Bongino, former Secret Service agent and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012 for Maryland
 * Chauncey Goss, Sanibel council member and candidate for this seat in 2012

Declined

 * Tom Grady, former state representative
 * Paige Kreegel, state representative and candidate for this seat in 2012
 * Tom Leonardo, Fort Myers Council member

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.

Nominee

 * Alcee Hastings, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * Lois Frankel, incumbent U.S. Representative

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.

Nominee

 * Ted Deutch

Republican primary
Boca Raton 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.

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.

Nominee

 * Debbie Wasserman Schultz, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Tim Canova, attorney and professor at Nova Southeastern University

Declined

 * Martin Karp, Miami-Dade School Board member

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.

Nominee

 * Frederica Wilson, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Randal Hill, retired NFL player and former U.S. Homeland Security agent

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.

Nominee

 * Mario Díaz-Balart, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Alina Valdes, physician

District 26
Republican Carlos Curbelo had represented the district since being elected in 2014.

Nominee

 * Joe Garcia, former U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Annette Taddeo, businesswoman, nominee for 18th district in 2008 and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2014

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.

Nominee

 * Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * David Adams
 * Maria Peiro

Nominee

 * Scott Fuhrman, businessman

Eliminated in primary

 * Frank Perez, US Army veteran
 * Adam Sackrin, attorney