Tony Khoury
Tony Khoury was a 2016 independent candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Florida.
Biography
Khoury arrived in the United States at the age of 17 and has a degree in aerospace engineering. He has worked for Batch Air and Eastern Airlines and has founded multiple aviation companies. [1]
Elections
2016
The race for Florida's U.S. Senate seat was one of nine competitive battleground races in 2016 that that helped Republicans maintain control of the Senate. Incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R) defeated U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D), Iraq war veteran Paul Stanton (L), and nine independent and write-in candidates in the general election, which took place on November 8, 2016. According to Politico, Rubio was “the first Republican senator from the Sunshine State ever to win reelection in a presidential election year.”[2][3]
Rubio called Murphy "hyper-partisan," "a rubber stamp for, God forbid, a Clinton presidency," and accused him of fabricating his qualifications.[4][5][6][7] Murphy criticized Rubio, saying, "Sen. Rubio has the worst vote attendance record of any Florida senator in nearly 50 years." Murphy's spokeswoman Galia Slayen said, "Marco Rubio is willing to abandon his responsibility to Floridians and hand over our country's national security to Donald Trump, as long as it advances his own political career."[8]
In his victory speech, Rubio said, “[I] hope that I and my colleagues as we return to work in Washington D.C. can set a better example how political discourse should exist in this country. And I know people feel betrayed and you have a right to. Every major institution in our society has failed us — the media, the government, big business, Wall Street, academia — they have all failed us. So people are so frustrated and angry. But we must channel that anger and frustration into something positive. Let it move us forward as energy to confront and solve our challenges and our problems.”[9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Marco Rubio Incumbent |
52% | 4,835,191 | |
| Democratic | Patrick Murphy | 44.3% | 4,122,088 | |
| Libertarian | Paul Stanton | 2.1% | 196,956 | |
| Independent | Bruce Nathan | 0.6% | 52,451 | |
| Independent | Tony Khoury | 0.5% | 45,820 | |
| Independent | Steven Machat | 0.3% | 26,918 | |
| Independent | Basil Dalack | 0.2% | 22,236 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 160 | |
| Total Votes | 9,301,820 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Marco Rubio Incumbent |
72% | 1,029,830 | ||
| Carlos Beruff | 18.5% | 264,427 | ||
| Dwight Young | 6.4% | 91,082 | ||
| Ernie Rivera | 3.2% | 45,153 | ||
| Total Votes | 1,430,492 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Patrick Murphy |
58.9% | 665,985 | ||
| Alan Grayson | 17.7% | 199,929 | ||
| Pam Keith | 15.4% | 173,919 | ||
| Roque De La Fuente | 5.4% | 60,810 | ||
| Reginald Luster | 2.6% | 29,138 | ||
| Total Votes | 1,129,781 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paul Stanton |
73.5% | 2,946 | ||
| Augustus Invictus Sol | 26.5% | 1,063 | ||
| Total Votes | 4,009 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections |
||||
Campaign themes
2016
Khoury issued the following statement regarding his bid for office:
| “ | Tony is not a career politician. In fact, this is his first run for public office. He is not affiliated with the establishment and is not seeking to enrich himself, or appease special interests. Instead, he wants to serve the people of this country and the Great State of Florida that adopted him forty years ago.The American people are frustrated with career politicians and the entrenched political establishments.
Tony is running as an Independent, no party affiliation, because he believes he can make a difference without the burden of entrenched political establishments and their high-powered lobbyists. He will succeed with hard work, high ethical standards, business experience, and fresh ideas to advance the interests of the state of Florida and the United States of America. He is running in this year’s election because he strongly believes his common sense approach can solve the most pressing issues affecting the people of Florida. He believes, like millions of Americans, that the current system of partisanship voting by their elected representatives does not reflect the wishes of the people. Rather, career politicians vote according to the wishes of the existing political parties that pander openly to special interests. Tony is organizing a listening tour across the state and through every county, so the people can voice their concerns to him directly. He believes in term limits and makes the pledge that, when elected, he will serve only two terms. Together, with the people, Florida will become the greatest state in the nation. [10] |
” |
| —Tony Khoury, [1] | ||
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on April 28, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Marco Rubio and John McCain Win Primaries in Florida and Arizona," accessed September 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "How Rubio outdid Trump in Florida and revived his career," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Rubio: GOP has tough fight ahead to maintain Senate control," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Ahead of Florida primary, Rubio offers Trump a tepid embrace," accessed September 2, 2016
- ↑ CBS Miami, "The Making of Patrick Murphy," June 22, 2016
- ↑ Patrick Murphy for Senate, "Press Releases / Setting the Record Straight On Yesterday’s Misleading CBS Miami Report," June 23, 2016
- ↑ PolitiFact, "Mostly True: Marco Rubio has worst voting record of any Florida senator in nearly 50 years," accessed September 3, 2016
- ↑ Breitbart, "Rubio Wins Reelection Bid — Gives Victory Speech in English and Spanish," accessed November 15, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
