Florida's 12th Congressional District

Florida's 12th Congressional District

Incumbent

Gus M. Bilirakis

Assumed office: January 3, 2013

Florida's 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Gus M. Bilirakis (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Florida representatives represented an average of 770,376 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 700,029 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Rock Aboujaoude Jr. in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis (R)	71.0	306,487
		Rock Aboujaoude Jr. (D)	29.0	124,949

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 431,436
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Rock Aboujaoude Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 12.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Harry Dunlap in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis	84.3	59,946
		Harry Dunlap	15.7	11,182

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,128
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jack Martin (R)

2022

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Kimberly Walker and Charles Smith in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 12 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis (R)	70.4	226,601
		Kimberly Walker (D)	29.6	95,390
	Submit photo	Charles Smith (No Party Affiliation) (Write-in)	0.0	4

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 321,995
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kimberly Walker advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 12.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Jack Martin, Chris Leiser, Brian Perras, and Sid Preskitt in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis	79.7	67,189
		Jack Martin	9.2	7,790
		Chris Leiser	4.7	4,000
		Brian Perras	3.8	3,217
		Sid Preskitt	2.5	2,142

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 84,338
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Carnevale (R)

2020

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Kimberly Walker in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis (R)	62.9	284,941
		Kimberly Walker (D)	37.1	168,194

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 453,135
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Steven Knezevich (Unaffiliated)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Kimberly Walker advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 12.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Courtney Rettew (D)

Republican primary election

The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Zachary Smith (R)

2018

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis defeated Chris Hunter and Angelika Purkis in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 12 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis (R)	58.1	194,564
		Chris Hunter (D)	39.7	132,844
		Angelika Purkis (No Party Affiliation)	2.2	7,510

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 334,918 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 12

Chris Hunter defeated Stephen Perenich and Robert Tager in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 12 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Hunter	65.3	31,771
		Stephen Perenich	19.1	9,308
		Robert Tager	15.6	7,604

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 48,683
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mathew Thomas (D)
• Kimberly Walker (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12

Incumbent Gus M. Bilirakis advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 12 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Gus M. Bilirakis

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Gus Bilirakis (R) defeated Robert Matthew Tager (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent in August.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gus Bilirakis Incumbent	68.6%	253,559
	Democratic	Robert Tager	31.4%	116,110
Total Votes				369,669
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2014

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 12th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Gus Bilirakis (R) ran unopposed in the general election.

2012

See also: Florida's 12th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 12th District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Republican Gus Bilirakis won the election in the district.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gus Bilirakis Incumbent	63.5%	209,604
	Democratic	Jonathan Michael Snow	32.9%	108,770
	Independent	Paul Sidney Elliot	1.5%	4,915
	Independent	John Russell	2.1%	6,878
Total Votes				330,167
Source: Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Dennis A. Ross won election to the United States House. He defeated Lori Edwards (D) and Randy Wilkinson (Tea Party) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dennis A. Ross	48.1%	102,704
	Democratic	Lori Edwards	41.1%	87,769
	Tea Party	Randy Wilkinson	10.7%	22,857
Total Votes				213,330

2008
On November 4, 2008, Adam Putnam won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Doug Tudor (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Adam Putnam incumbent	57.5%	185,698
	Democratic	Doug Tudor	42.5%	137,465
Total Votes				323,163

2006
On November 7, 2006, Adam Putnam won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joe Viscusi (No Party Affiliation) and Ed Bowlin (No Party Affiliation) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Adam Putnam incumbent	69.1%	124,452
	No Party Affiliation	Joe Viscusi	19.4%	34,976
	No Party Affiliation	Ed Bowlin	11.5%	20,636
Total Votes				180,064

2004
On November 2, 2004, Adam Putnam won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bob Hagenmaier (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Adam Putnam incumbent	64.9%	179,204
	Democratic	Bob Hagenmaier	35.1%	96,965
Total Votes				276,169

2002
Adam Putnam ran unopposed for re-election in 2002.

2000
On November 7, 2000, Adam Putnam won election to the United States House. He defeated Mike Stedem (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 12 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Adam Putnam	57%	125,224
	Democratic	Mike Stedem	43%	94,395
	Write-in		0%	6
Total Votes				219,625

Redistricting

2020-2024

See also: Redistricting in Florida after the 2020 census

On March 27, 2024, the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida upheld the state's congressional map after it was struck down by a lower court on Sep. 2, 2023. As a result, this map was used for Florida's 2024 congressional elections. According to the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida's order:

“

This case involves constitutional challenges to the congressional districting map proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis and enacted by the Florida Legislature in 2022 ... Plaintiffs had to prove both discriminatory effects and a discriminatory purpose. They proved neither. Thus, [we] concur in the decision to grant judgment in the Secretary’s favor.

”

On December 1, 2023, the Florida First District Court of Appeal ruled 8-2 that the redistricting plan did not unconstitutionally limit Black voting power. The plaintiffs appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, which heard arguments on September 12, 2024.

On September 2, 2023, Leon County Circuit Court Judge J. Lee Marsh struck down enacted North Florida congressional districts and ordered the Legislature to redraw district boundaries. On June 2, 2022, the Florida Supreme Court had declined to block Florida's enacted congressional map, which Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law on April 22.

The Florida First District Court of Appeal had reinstated the congressional district boundaries on May 20, overruling Leon County Circuit Court Judge Layne Smith's temporary hold on the map. On May 11, Smith issued an order declaring Florida's enacted congressional map unconstitutional, saying, "The enacted map is unconstitutional under the Fair District amendment. It diminishes African-Americans’ ability to elect the representative of their choice." Smith also said a map drawn by a court-appointed special master should be substituted for the enacted map in the 2022 elections. The plaintiffs in the case filed an emergency appeal with the Florida Supreme Court on May 23, 2022, seeking a hold on the enacted congressional map.

DeSantis signed the original congressional map into law on April 22, 2022. The map bill was proposed and approved by the Florida State Legislature during a special session called for the purposes of redistricting. The Florida State Senate voted 24-15 to approve the map on April 20, and the Florida House of Representatives voted 68-34 to approve the map on April 21.

This was the second congressional map bill approved by the state legislature. DeSantis vetoed the first on March 29. Republican leaders in the legislature said on April 11 that they would wait to receive a map from DeSantis to support. DeSantis submitted a map to the legislature on April 13, which became the enacted map.

How does redistricting in Florida work? In Florida, both congressional and state legislative district lines are drawn by the state legislature. Congressional lines are adopted as regular legislation and are subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative lines are passed via joint resolution and are not subject to gubernatorial veto. State legislative district maps are automatically submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for approval. In the event that the court rejects the lines, the legislature is given a second chance to draft a plan. If the legislature cannot approve a state legislative redistricting plan, the state attorney general must ask the state supreme court to draft a plan. There are no similar procedures in place for congressional districts.

The Florida Constitution requires that all districts, whether congressional or state legislative, be contiguous. Also, "where doing so does not conflict with minority rights, [districts] must be compact and utilize existing political and geographical boundaries where feasible." Districts cannot be drawn in such a way as to "favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent."

Florida District 12
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Florida District 12
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 12th Congressional District of Florida after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in Florida after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Florida State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census. Prior to redistricting the 12th District encompassed much of Polk County as well as parts of rural and suburban east Hillsborough County and a small piece of western Osceola County.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+17. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 12th the 54th most Republican district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+17. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 12th the 65th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 63.9%-35.1%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+17. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 12th the 67th most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 35.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 63.9%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 12th Congressional District the 157th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.00. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.00 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Florida
• Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2024
• Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2022
• Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2020
• Florida's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 12

Footnotes

[show]

Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jimmy Patronis (R)

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Randy Fine (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (8)