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Florida's 13th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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County result Jolly: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||
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Elections in Florida |
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Government |
A special election for Florida's 13th congressional district was held March 11, 2014, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives, following the death of incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Young on October 18, 2013. [1] Primary elections were held on January 14, 2014. [2] Young, who had already announced that he would not be running for re-election in 2014, was re-elected in 2012 with 57 percent of the vote. [3] With 100% of the precincts reporting, David Jolly was declared the winner of the special election.
On October 9, 2013, Republican Bill Young, who had held this Tampa Bay-area district since 1971, announced that he would not run for re-election to a twenty-second term in 2014. He died 9 days later and this special election was called to fill his seat. Though Young had been re-elected by wide margins, the district in recent years had become competitive. In the four most recent presidential elections, it was won by Al Gore over George W. Bush in 2000 51%-49%, by Bush with 51%-49% in 2004, by Barack Obama over John McCain 51%-47% and again carried by Obama in 2012 by a narrower 50%-49% over Mitt Romney. Given this, some political commentators and journalists viewed this election as a bellwether for the fall 2014 elections. [4] [5] While discounting the idea of special elections as bellwethers, political scientists' agreed the result was a data point that public sentiment favored Republicans. [6]
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mark Bircher | David Jolly | Kathleen Peters | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | January 9, 2014 | 653 | ± 3.8% | 26.3% | 36.5% | 23.9% | 13.3% |
Gravis Marketing | January 8, 2014 | 976 | ± 3% | 25% | 34% | 28% | 14% |
St. Pete Polls | December 30, 2013 | 488 | ± 4.4% | 17.7% | 39.4% | 27.7% | 15.1% |
St. Pete Polls | December 18, 2013 | 660 | ± 3.8% | 16.1% | 34.9% | 30.2% | 18.9% |
St. Pete Polls | December 3, 2013 | 534 | ± 4.2% | 17.2% | 27.8% | 27.1% | 28.0% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Rick Baker | Neil Brickfield | Larry Crow | Frank Hibbard | David Jolly | Kathleen Peters | Karen Seel | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | November 18, 2013 | 582 | ± 4.1% | — | — | — | — | 39.2% | 17.3% | — | 30.9% | 12.6% |
St. Pete Polls | November 5, 2013 | 498 | ± 4.4% | — | 16.8% | — | 15% | 18.7% | — | — | 28.7% | 20.8% |
St. Pete Polls | October 15, 2013 | 742 | ± 3.6% | 51% | 7% | 4% | — | 2% | — | 10% | 27% | — |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Jolly | 20,493 | 45 | |
Republican | Kathleen Peters | 14,234 | 31 | |
Republican | Mark Bircher | 11,242 | 24 | |
Total votes | 45,810 | 100 |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jessica Ehrlich | Alex Sink | Other | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | November 5, 2013 | 367 | ± 5.1% | 10.6% | 69.6% | 10.7% | 9.1% |
St. Pete Polls | October 15, 2013 | 706 | ± 3.7% | 20% | 63% | 10% | 7% |
One voter was confused by a website called "sinkforcongress2014" accepting donations to the National Republican Congressional Committee to defeat Sink and other Democrats, thinking it was a pro-Sink website. His $250 donation was refunded by the NRCC. [47]
David Jolly, Lucas Overby, and Alex Sink, the three candidates appearing on the ballot for the special election, took part in a televised debate on February 3, 2014. Held at the Seminole Campus of St. Petersburg College and co-hosted by the Tampa Bay Times and Bay News 9, the event aired live on C-SPAN 3. Al Ruechel, Adam Smith, and Amy Hollyfield served as moderators. [48] The debate can be viewed in its entirety here.
A non-scientific poll conducted after the debate by Bay News 9 indicated that overall viewers felt David Jolly had won with 37% of the vote, followed by Alex Sink with 33% and Lucas Overby with 30%. [49]
During the campaign, OpenSecrets reported on February 13, 2014, that outside groups had spent $3.5 million on the election, with $2.6 million of that from groups that support Jolly. This makes it the most expensive election of the 2014 cycle so far and one of the most expensive special congressional elections in history. [50]
The Associated Press reports that $11 million total was spent as the Democratic Party poured money into the campaign in its final weeks. In the end, Sink outspent Jolly by 3 to 1 on television ads as well as outspending him overall. [51]
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | David Jolly (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Lucas Overby (L) | Undecided |
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Public Policy Polling | March 7–9, 2014 | 702 | ± 3.7% | 45% | 48% | 6% | 2% |
RedRacingHorses & PMI inc. | February 25–27, 2014 | 391 | ± 6% | 46% | 44% | 5% | 5% |
St. Pete Polls | February 25, 2014 | 1,269 | ± 2.8% | 45.6% | 45.9% | 6.4% | 2.1% |
Fabrizio, Lee & Associates | February 17–18, 2014 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 44% | 42% | — | 14% |
St. Pete Polls | February 12, 2014 | 1,130 | ± 2.9% | 46.2% | 44% | 6.6% | 2.4% |
St. Leo University | February 9–11, 2014 | 400 | ± 5% | 37% | 46% | 12% | 5% |
Braun Research | February 4–9, 2014 | 603 | ± 4% | 35% | 42% | 4% | 14% |
DCCC | January 24, 2014 | 527 | ± 4.3% | 45% | 49% | — | 6% |
McLaughlin & Associates | January 16–19, 2014 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 43% | 38% | 4% | 15% |
St. Pete Polls | January 15, 2014 | 1,278 | ± 2.7% | 47% | 42.8% | 4.4% | 5.9% |
St. Pete Polls | December 3, 2013 | 1,128 | ± 2.9% | 36.3% | 49% | 5.6% | 8.8% |
St. Pete Polls | November 18, 2013 | 1,252 | ± 2.8% | 34.9% | 49.3% | — | 15.7% |
St. Pete Polls | November 5, 2013 | 1,079 | ± 3% | 31% | 51.5% | — | 17.5% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Rick Baker (R) | Jessica Ehrlich (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | October 15, 2013 | 1,741 | ± 2.3% | 34.6% | 30.7% | 34.7% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Rick Baker (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | October 15, 2013 | 1,741 | ± 2.3% | 34.0% | 50.8% | 15.2% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Mark Bircher (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | December 3, 2013 | 1,128 | ± 2.9% | 30.2% | 50.4% | 12.1% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Neil Brickfield (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Undecided |
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St. Pete Polls | November 5, 2013 | 1,079 | ± 3% | 30.1% | 51.2% | 18.8% |
St. Pete Polls | October 15, 2013 | 1,741 | ± 2.3% | 24.0% | 56.6% | 19.4% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Frank Hibbard (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | November 5, 2013 | 1,079 | ± 3% | 30.7% | 51.6% | 17.7% |
Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kathleen Peters (R) | Alex Sink (D) | Undecided |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Pete Polls | December 3, 2013 | 1,128 | ± 2.9% | 34.6% | 47.7% | 12.2% |
St. Pete Polls | November 18, 2013 | 1,252 | ± 2.8% | 30.7% | 49.7% | 19.6% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Jolly | 89,167 | 48.52% | -9.05% | |
Democratic | Alex Sink | 85,673 | 46.62% | +4.19% | |
Libertarian | Lucas Overby | 8,919 | 4.86% | N/A | |
n/a | Michael S. Levinson (write-in) | 13 | 0.00% | N/A | |
Total votes | '183,772' | '100.0%' | N/A | ||
Republican hold |
Florida's 13th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress on Florida's Gulf Coast, assigned to Pinellas County. The district includes Largo, Clearwater, and Palm Harbor. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, most of St. Petersburg facing Tampa Bay was redistricted into the 14th district, while the rest of Pinellas County formerly in the 12th district became included in the 13th district.
Adelaide Alexander Sink is an American former politician and financier. A member of the Democratic Party, Sink was the Chief Financial Officer for the state of Florida and treasurer on the board of trustees of the Florida State Board of Administration. She was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida and faced Republican nominee Rick Scott in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial election, losing to Scott by a 1% margin. Sink was also the unsuccessful Democratic nominee in the 2014 special election for Florida's 13th congressional district, losing to Republican David Jolly on March 11, 2014, in a race to fill the vacancy created by the death in 2013 of U.S. Representative Bill Young.
Janet C. Long is a Democratic politician and educator who serves as a member of the Pinellas County Commission for the at-large District 1. Previously, she represented District 51 in the Florida House of Representatives from 2007-2011, and was a member of the Seminole, Florida City Council from 2002 to 2006.
The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
The 2014 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi ran for re-election to a second term in office against Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer.
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The 2016 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Florida, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary elections for both the Republicans and Democrats took place on August 30, 2016.
St. Petersburg, Florida, held an election for mayor on August 27 and November 5, 2013. A non-partisan primary election was held on August 27, 2013. No candidate won a majority of the vote, so the top two finishers, incumbent Mayor Bill Foster and former State Representative Rick Kriseman, advanced to a runoff.
George N. Cretekos is an American politician from the state of Florida. A member of the Republican Party, Cretekos is the former mayor of Clearwater, Florida. Prior to his election as mayor, he served as a congressional aide to Bill Young for 36 years, and served on the Clearwater City Council.
Kathleen M. Peters is an American politician of the Republican Party and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 69th District, which includes southern Pinellas County, stretching from Redington Shores to St. Pete Beach, from 2012 to 2018.
David Wilson Jolly is an American attorney, former lobbyist and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 13th congressional district, based in Pinellas County, from 2014 to 2017. A former Republican, he previously served as general counsel to his predecessor, Bill Young. He won the race for Young's seat in a special election against Democrat Alex Sink. He was subsequently reelected in November 2014, winning 75 percent of the vote, but was unseated in 2016 by former Governor Charlie Crist after court-ordered redistricting made his district more Democratic. Since leaving office, Jolly has become a prominent Republican critic of U.S. president Donald Trump. In September 2018, Jolly announced he had left the Republican Party.
Mark Bircher is a retired Marine Corps Reserve brigadier general, commercial pilot, lawyer, scholar, and former Blue Angels pilot. He was a Republican Party candidate in Florida's 13th congressional district special election, 2014. He was the Republican candidate for the 2016 election in Florida's 13th congressional district.
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.
The 2018 Florida Chief Financial Officer election took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Republican Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who was appointed in 2017, successfully ran for a full term, defeating Democratic nominee Jeremy Ring, a former state senator, in the general election.
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
Robert A. "Bob" Gualtieri is an American law enforcement officer, lawyer, and politician who is serving as the 15th sheriff of Pinellas County, Florida. He previously served as Chief Deputy and General Counsel to PCSO under Sheriff Jim Coats. Gualtieri was appointed Sheriff by Governor Rick Scott in 2011 to succeed Coats. Gualtieri was elected to the office in his own right in 2012, and was re-elected in 2016. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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