2014 Florida's 13th congressional district special election
Summary
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.
2014 Florida's 13th congressional district 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 nine 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]
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]
Debatesedit
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]
Campaign spendingedit
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]
^Alex Isenstadt (October 18, 2013). "Bill Young, longest-serving House Republican, dies". Politico. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
^Abby Livingston (October 30, 2013). "Florida House Special-Election Date Scheduled". Roll Call. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
^"November 6, 2012 General Election – Official Results". Florida Department of State. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
^Kucinich, Jackie (November 22, 2013). In Fla., late Rep. Young’s purple-trending district will test waters for 2014 midterms. The Washington Post.
^Larry J. Sabato; Kyle Kondik (March 12, 2014). "The Limited Meaning of Florida's Special House Election". Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball.
Nathan L. Gonzales (March 10, 2014). "Why Florida's 13th District Special Election Is Still a Tossup". The Rothenberg Political Report.
Sean Trende (March 11, 2014). "What Should We Read Into FL-13? Maybe Nothing". RealClearPolitics.
Harry Enten (March 12, 2014). "Don't Read Too Much Into Result in Florida's 13th District". FiveThirtyEight.
Nate Silver (September 13, 2011). "A Guide to Cutting Through Special-Election Spin". FiveThirtyEight.
^ abcdefgCurtis Krueger (November 19, 2013). "State Rep. Kathleen Peters enters Pinellas congressional race, creating a GOP contest". Tampa Bay Times.
^ abcd"Rick Baker won't run for Young's seat, but David Jolly will". Tampa Bay Times. November 2, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (November 18, 2013). "State Rep. Peters files paperwork for Pinellas congressional seat, plans announcement for Tuesday". Tampa Bay Times.
^ abcdefghijklmPeter Schorsch (November 10, 2013). "Rick Baker endorses David Jolly in special election for Congressional District 13". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
^"Safety Harbor Mayor Ayoub not running for Congress and so far not supporting GOP candidate David Jolly". November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
^Peter Schorsch (November 2, 2013). "Former St. Pete mayor Rick Baker announcing he is NOT running for Congressional District 13". SaintPetersBlog.
^Peter Schorsch (November 2, 2013). "Former Pinellas Commissioner Brickfield will not run for Congress". Tampa Bay Times.
^ abCurtis Krueger (November 2, 2013). "Who's in, who's out in race for Rep. C.W. Bill Young's seat". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (November 7, 2013). "Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says no to congressional run". Tampa Bay Times.
^Curtis Krueger (November 7, 2013). "GOP's Gualtieri and Hibbard rule out campaign to replace Young in Congress". Tampa Bay Times.
^Peter Schorsch (November 6, 2013). "Tea Party loon, charity scammer Michael Pinson announces he won't run for Congress". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (November 5, 2013). "Pinellas Commissioner Karen Seel won't run for Congress". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
^Peter Schorsch (November 1, 2013). "Bill Young, Jr. announces HE WILL NOT seek his father's congressional seat". SaintPetersBlog.
^Curtis Krueger (November 11, 2013). "Tom Young won't run for his brother's seat in Congress". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
^Peter Schorsch (October 22, 2013). "CD 13 aspirant Nick Zoller tells me he won't run in special election; wants Beverly Young to complete term". SaintPetersBlog.
^Adam C. Smith (December 18, 2013). "Allen West backs Mark Bircher in race for Young seat". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
^ abPeter Schorsch (November 14, 2013). "David Jolly gets key Pinellas endorsement from Sen. Jeff Brandes". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
^ abcdefghijklmn"Clearwater Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Republican David Jolly for Congress" (PDF). Friends of David Jolly. November 21, 2013.
^ abCurtis Krueger (December 10, 2013). "Endorsement wars are raging in Pinellas congressional race". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
^ abPeter Schorsch (November 17, 2013). "Property Appraiser Pam Dubov backs David Jolly's bid for CD 13". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
^ abPeter Schorsch (November 8, 2013). "U.S. Rep. Richard Nugent endorses David Jolly's congressional bid". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
^ abcdCurtis Krueger (November 8, 2013). "Endorsements for Congressional candidate David Jolly". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
^ abcCurtis Krueger (December 17, 2013). "Farkas endorses Peters, contractors endorse Jolly in Pinellas GOP congress race". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
^"Tribune endorses David Jolly for District 13 GOP primary". Tampa Tribune. December 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqPhil Ammann (November 30, 2013). "Bill Young Jr. helping to host Dec. 4 fundraiser for Kathleen Peters". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 30, 2013.
^Peter Schorsch (December 10, 2013). "Email Insights: not-too-bitter Bill Foster endorses Kathleen Peters". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
^Abby Livingston (December 9, 2013). "House GOP Women Fundraise for Florida Special Candidate (Updated)". RollCall. Archived from the original on December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (November 21, 2013). "In Pinellas congressional race, Peters and Jolly receive new endorsementss". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
^"Times recommends: Kathleen Peters for U.S. House GOP primary". Tampa Bay Times. December 16, 2013.
^"Republican primary results". Associated Press. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
^Adam C. Smith (October 30, 2013). "Alex Sink is running for C.W. Bill Young's congressional seat, will move to Pinellas". Tampa Bay Times.
^Abby Livingston (November 6, 2013). "Democrat Suspends Campaign Against Alex Sink in Florida District". Roll Call. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
^ ab"Pinellas Commissioner Charlie Justice won't run for Young's seat, Libertarian Lucas Overby will". Tampa Bay Times. October 25, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (October 28, 2013). "Pinellas Commissioner Janet Long decides against running for Congress". Tampa Bay Times.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeCurtis Krueger (November 12, 2013). "Congressional candidate Alex Sink touts Pinellas endorsements". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
^ abcdefghijklmnopPeter Schorsch (December 2, 2013). "Alex Sink picks up more endorsements from Pinellas elected officials". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013.
^ abPeter Schorsch (November 14, 2013). "Dog bites man: Kathy Castor endorses Alex Sink for Congress". SaintPetersBlog. Archived from the original on November 16, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
^ ab"EMILY's List Endorses Alex Sink For Florida Congressional Seat". Talking Points Memo. October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
^Curtis Krueger (November 20, 2013). "Congressional candidate Jolly calls for replacing controversial flood insurance program". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
^Leary, Alex (February 3, 2014). "Campaign site misleads man into donating money against Sink". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
^"Florida 13th District Debate, Feb 3 2014 - Video - C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org.
^"Who do you think did best at Monday night's Congressional debate?". Bay News 9. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
^"Outside Spending Dominates in Florida, to Jolly's Benefit". OpenSecrets. February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
^"Florida Special Election Results: David Jolly Wins House Seat In State's 13th District". Associated Press/Huffington Post. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
^ abcCurtis Krueger (January 15, 2014). "Kathleen Peters not ready to endorse David Jolly". Tampa Bay Times.
^ ab"Rick Scott raising money for David Jolly". January 28, 2014.
^Kevin Derby (January 23, 2014). "John McCain, NRCC Help Out David Jolly Over Alex Sink". Sunshine State News. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014.
^Curtis Krueger (January 20, 2014). "After balking, GOP candidate supports David Jolly in Pinellas congressional race". Tampa Bay Times.
^Derby, Kevin (February 10, 2014). "Marco Rubio Showcases Support for David Jolly Against Alex Sink". Sunshine State News - Florida Political News.
^"Tribune endorsement: David Jolly for U.S. House District 13". Tampa Tribune. February 9, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
^Jed Ziggler (January 13, 2014). "Gary Johnson endorses Lucas Overby". Independent Political Report.
^Adam C. Smith (February 23, 2014). "Republican endorses Alex Sink". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
^"Times recommends: Alex Sink for U.S. House". Tampa Bay Times. February 7, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
^"Florida Department of State - Election Results".