Florida's 13th congressional district

Summary

Florida's 13th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress on Florida's Gulf Coast, assigned to Pinellas County.[5][6] 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.

Florida's 13th congressional district
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative
  Anna Paulina Luna
RSt. Petersburg
Area429[1] sq mi (1,110 km2)
Distribution
  • 99.99% urban[2]
  • 0.01% rural
Population (2022)763,693[3]
Median household
income
$65,785[3]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIR+6[4]

From 2003 to 2012, it encompassed all of Sarasota, DeSoto, and Hardee Counties; as well as most of Manatee County, except for a small northern coastal portion that was then located in the neighboring 11th congressional district. It also included a small section of Charlotte County. Most of that district is now the 16th congressional district, while the current 13th covers most of what had been the 10th district from 1993 to 2013.

The district is currently represented by Republican Anna Paulina Luna.

Characteristics edit

2015 court-ordered redistricting edit

In July 2015 the Florida Supreme Court overturned the boundaries of the state's congressional districts, ruling that "the maps were the product of an unconstitutional political gerrymandering". It expressed its distrust of lawmakers and "provided detailed instructions on how to repair the flawed map in time for the 2016 election."[7]

In 2012, the Legislature drew these districts so that District 14 crossed Tampa Bay from Hillsborough County, splitting Pinellas County and the City of St. Petersburg to include a portion of the black population in southern Pinellas County in District 14. The Challengers contended that the Legislature's configuration of these districts—which 'added more Democratic voters to an already safely Democratic District 14, while ensuring that District 13 was more favorable to the Republican Party'—was directly connected to the trial court's finding that the enacted map was unconstitutionally drawn to favor the Republican Party.[8]

With the future of the boundaries of the district undetermined, the Republican Party may abandon it. This was where (under slightly different boundaries) William C. Cramer was elected to Congress, and he helped build the Republican Party in Florida and the South. He held office from 1954 to 1970. Republican C.W. Bill Young essentially represented the district from 1971 to his death in 2013. But demographics have continued to change, and more recently it has been a swing district. Several Democrats may be interested in running for the seat.

2022 DeSantis redistricting edit

Despite the July 2015 Florida Supreme Court ruling overturning a blatantly redistricted congressional map, in which the 2012 legislature redrew Tampa's 14th District to include portions of the City of Saint Petersburg and black populations in southern Pinellas County, Governor DeSantis' administration redrew Pinellas County's 13th District to be exclusive of these known Democratic areas. Under the Fair Districts constitutional amendments that Florida voters approved in 2010, legislators are forbidden to draw districts that intentionally favor or disfavor incumbents or parties. In September of 2023 Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh determined the redistricting plan pushed by Ron DeSantis violated the state constitution and is prohibited from being used for any future U.S. congressional elections.[9]

List of members representing the district edit

Representative Party Years Cong
ress
Electoral history Congressional map
District created January 3, 1973
 
William Lehman
(North Miami Beach)
Democratic January 3, 1973 –
January 3, 1983
93rd
94th
95th
96th
97th
Elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Redistricted to the 17th district.
1973–1983
[data missing]
 
Connie Mack III
(Cape Coral)
Republican January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1989
98th
99th
100th
Elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
1983–1993
[data missing]
 
Porter Goss
(Sanibel)
Republican January 3, 1989 –
January 3, 1993
101st
102nd
Elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Redistricted to the 14th district.
 
Dan Miller
(Bradenton)
Republican January 3, 1993 –
January 3, 2003
103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
Elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Retired.
1993–2003
[data missing]
 
Katherine Harris
(Sarasota)
Republican January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2007
108th
109th
Elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
2003–2013
 
 
Vern Buchanan
(Sarasota)
Republican January 3, 2007 –
January 3, 2013
110th
111th
112th
Elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Redistricted to the 16th district.
 
Bill Young
(Largo)
Republican January 3, 2013 –
October 18, 2013
113th Redistricted from the 10th district and re-elected in 2012.
Died.
2013–2017
 
Vacant October 18, 2013 –
March 13, 2014
 
David Jolly
(Indian Shores)
Republican March 13, 2014 –
January 3, 2017
113th
114th
Elected to finish Young's term.
Re-elected later in 2014.
Lost re-election.
 
Charlie Crist
(St. Petersburg)
Democratic January 3, 2017 –
August 31, 2022
115th
116th
117th
Elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Retired and resigned to run for Governor of Florida.
2017–2023
 
Vacant August 31, 2022 –
January 3, 2023
117th
 
Anna Paulina Luna
(St. Petersburg)
Republican January 3, 2023 –
present
118th Elected in 2022. 2023–present
 

Voting edit

Year Results
2000 George W. Bush 55% – Al Gore 45%[10]
2004 George W. Bush 56% – John Kerry 44%[10]
2008 John McCain 52% – Barack Obama 47%[10]
2012 Barack Obama 50% – Mitt Romney 49%
2016 Hillary Clinton 50% – Donald Trump 46%
2020 Joe Biden 51% – Donald Trump 47%

Election results edit

2002 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2002)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Katherine Harris 139,048 54.79
Democratic Jan Schneider 114,739 45.21
Total votes 253,787 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

2004 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2004)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Katherine Harris (incumbent) 190,477 55.30
Democratic Jan Schneider 153,961 44.70
Total votes 344,438 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

2006 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2006)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vern Buchanan 119,309 50.08
Democratic Christine Jennings 118,940 49.92
Total votes 238,249 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

Election officials certified Buchanan as the winner of the race over Jennings by 369 votes. Buchanan was declared the winner after a mandatory recount and analysis of alleged voting machine errors in the race. The primary controversy in this race was that over 18,000 ballots (or roughly one in six) cast in Sarasota County apparently did not register a vote for this race, far higher than in the two previous elections involving Jan Schneider, but lower than the undervote in 2000. Sarasota County voted for Jennings by a six-point margin. Jennings refused to concede the race and pursued administrative and legal challenges to the result, including an appeal for an investigation of the election with the House Administration Committee.[11] Preliminary results from an investigation by Congress's Government Accountability Office concluded that there was no evidence that the voting machines caused the high undervote, but that inadequate testing made it impossible to prove their complete reliability.[12] Sarasota County has since moved to optical scanned paper ballots as a result of a 2006 referendum vote.

According to a statistical study published in 2008,[13] the missing votes were caused by the ballot screen layout. The authors' best estimate on what the result would have been, had this problem not occurred, gave victory to Jennings at a 99.9% confidence level, and a mean margin of victory for her of 639 votes.

2008 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2008)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vern Buchanan (incumbent) 204,382 55.43
Democratic Christine Jennings 137,967 37.42
Independent Jan Schneider 20,989 5.69
Independent Don Baldauf 5,358 1.45
Total votes 368,696 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

2010 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2010)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Vern Buchanan (incumbent) 183,811 68.86
Democratic James T. Golden 83,123 31.14
Total votes 266,934 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

2012 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2012)[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bill Young (redistricted incumbent) 189,609 57.57
Democratic Jessica Ehrlich 139,742 42.43
Total votes 329,347 100.00
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

2014 (special) edit

Florida's 13th congressional district special election (2014)[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Jolly 89,095 48.52
Democratic Alex Sink 85,639 46.64
Libertarian Lucas Overby 8,893 4.84
Total votes 183,927 100
Turnout {{{votes}}}
Republican hold

The district's seat was vacated following the death of Bill Young.[16] A special election was held on March 11, 2014 to replace him. The election was won by Republican David Jolly with 48.52% of the vote over one-time gubernatorial candidate Democrat Alex Sink's 46.64% and Libertarian candidate Lucas Overby's 4.84%.

2014 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2014)[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican David Jolly (incumbent) 168,172 75.22
Libertarian Lucas Overby 55,318 24.74
Write-in Michael Stephen Levinson 86 .04
Total votes 223,576 100.00
Republican hold

2016 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2016)[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charlie Crist 184,693 51.90
Republican David Jolly (incumbent) 171,149 48.10
Total votes 355,842 100.00
Democratic gain from Republican

2018 edit

Florida's 13th congressional district election (2018)[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charlie Crist (incumbent) 182,717 57.64
Republican George Buck 134,254 42.36
Total votes 316,971 100.00
Democratic hold

2020 edit

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Charlie Crist (incumbent) 215,405 53.04%
Republican Anna Paulina Luna 190,713 46.96%
Independent Republican Jacob Curnow (write-in) 7 0.01%
Total votes 406,125 100.0
Democratic hold

2022 edit

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Anna Paulina Luna 181,487 53.14%
Democratic Eric Lynn 153,876 45.06%
Libertarian Frank Craft 6,163 1.80%
Total votes 341,526 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

References edit

  1. ^ "Congressional Plan--SC14-1905 (Ordered by The Florida Supreme Court, 2-December-2015)" (PDF). Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  2. ^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based)". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "My Congressional District".
  4. ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  5. ^ See whole Florida state map for 2013, with the 13th district covering Sumter County, Hernando to Marion County: h9047_35x42L.pdf Congressional Plan: H000C9047. Chapter No. 2012-2, Laws of Florida. www.flsenate.gov. February 16, 2012.
  6. ^ See 2013 borders of 13th district in the 2013 districts map: H000C9047_map_bb.pdf, for the Big Bend region of Florida. Congressional Plan: H000C9047. Chapter No. 2012-2, Laws of Florida. www.flsenate.gov. February 2012.
  7. ^ Mary Ellen Klass, "Florida Supreme Court orders new congressional map with eight districts to be redrawn", Tampa Bay Times, July 9, 2015, February 11, 2016
  8. ^ "Supreme Court of Florida: The League of Women Voters of Florida vs. Ken Detzner" (PDF).
  9. ^ https://www.npr.org/2023/09/02/1197452442/desantis-florida-redistricting-map-gerrymandering-unconstitutional[bare URL]
  10. ^ a b c "Presidential Results by Congressional District, 2000-2008 – Swing State Project". December 15, 2008.
  11. ^ The CQPolitics Interview: Christine Jennings Archived December 7, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (December 6, 2006)
  12. ^ GAO Report (October 2, 2007)
  13. ^ Arlene Ash and John Lamperti (Spring 2008). "Florida 2006: Can Statistics Tell Us Who Won Congressional District-13?" (PDF). Chance. 21 (2). Springer: 18–24. doi:10.1007/s00144-008-0015-5. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  14. ^ "Pinellas - Election Results".
  15. ^ "2014 Florida House Results". Politico.
  16. ^ Juliet Eilperin (October 18, 2013). "C. W. "Bill" Young, longest-serving Republican in the House, dies at 82". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  17. ^ "November 4, 2014 General Election Official Results". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  18. ^ "Pinellas - Election Results".
  19. ^ "Florida's 13th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links edit

  • Voting inquiry finds reasons to dig deeper (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, August 4, 2007)
  • Congressional task force to begin investigating contested Florida 13 election. (The Bradenton Herald, March 31, 2007)
  • Congressional Republicans act to block Congressional Task Force slated to begin investigation into Florida 13. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 28, 2007)
  • Memo on voting machines "misfiled" by Kathy Dent's office. (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 17, 2007)
  • People for the American Way Statement on Newly Revealed ES&S Memo on Possible Machine Malfunction. (People for the American Way, March 15, 2007)
  • August 2006 Memo from Elections Systems and Software warning Florida Supervisors of Elections of a response time issue on their iVotronics touchscreen voting systems.
  • Sarasota: Could a Bug Have Lost Votes? (Professor Ed Felten, February 27, 2006)
  • Software Review and Security Analysis of the ES&S iVotronic 8.0.1.2 Voting Machine Firmware, Final Report. (Florida Department of State, February 2007)
  • Affidavit by Clare Ward-Jenkins, poll worker in Precinct 14, Sarasota County. Ms. Ward-Jenkins' affidavit details her encounters with a bug that repeatedly cleared votes cast for Democratic Congressional candidate, Christine Jennings., January 19, 2007
  • Analysis: Undervoted ballots heavily favored Democrats. (Orlando Sentinel, November 22, 2006)
  • Buchanan declared winner; rival Jennings sues (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, November 21, 2006)
  • Christine Jennings' "Complaint to Contest Election" (Filed in Florida Court, November 20, 2006)
  • Sarasota County Electronic Ballot Screenshots (Posted on The BradBlog, November 20, 2006)
  • Christine Jennings' web site.
  • Vern Buchanan's Congressional web site.

27°51′58″N 82°44′54″W / 27.86611°N 82.74833°W / 27.86611; -82.74833