Florida's 15th Congressional District

Florida's 15th Congressional District

Incumbent

Laurel Lee

Assumed office: January 3, 2023

Florida's 15th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Laurel Lee (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 15th Congressional District election, 2024

Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Republican primary)

Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 20 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 15

Incumbent Laurel Lee defeated Pat Kemp in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 15 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee (R)	56.2	195,334
		Pat Kemp (D)	43.8	152,361

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 347,695
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alexander Peterson (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Pat Kemp advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kris Fitzgerald (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Incumbent Laurel Lee defeated James Judge and Jennifer Barbosa in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee	72.3	28,571
		James Judge	18.1	7,137
		Jennifer Barbosa	9.6	3,809

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,517
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Perras (R)

2022

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 15

Laurel Lee defeated Alan Cohn in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 15 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee (R)	58.5	145,219
		Alan Cohn (D)	41.5	102,835

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 248,054
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Bertges (No Party Affiliation)
• Josue Vazquez (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Alan Cohn defeated Gavin Brown, Eddie Geller, Cesar Ramirez, and William VanHorn in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alan Cohn	33.1	14,928
		Gavin Brown	22.3	10,034
		Eddie Geller	21.9	9,859
		Cesar Ramirez	17.3	7,817
		William VanHorn	5.4	2,435

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,073
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jesse Philippe (D)
• Lily Ramcharran (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Laurel Lee defeated Kelli Stargel, Jackie Toledo, Demetries Grimes, and Kevin McGovern in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Laurel Lee	41.5	22,481
		Kelli Stargel	27.8	15,072
		Jackie Toledo	11.6	6,307
		Demetries Grimes	10.4	5,629
		Kevin McGovern	8.7	4,713

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,202
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dennis A. Ross (R)
• Jay Collins (R)

2020

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 15

Scott Franklin defeated Alan Cohn in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 15 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Franklin (R)	55.4	216,374
		Alan Cohn (D)	44.6	174,297

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 390,671
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Michael Levertt (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Alan Cohn defeated Adam Hattersley, Jesse Philippe, and Kel Britvec in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alan Cohn	41.0	21,079
		Adam Hattersley	33.0	16,978
		Jesse Philippe	26.0	13,384
		Kel Britvec (Write-in)	0.0	0

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,441
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrew Learned (D)
• Loretta Lax Miller (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Scott Franklin defeated incumbent Ross Spano in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 18, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Franklin	51.2	30,736
		Ross Spano	48.8	29,265

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 60,001
= 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.
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2018

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Florida District 15

Ross Spano defeated Kristen Carlson in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 15 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ross Spano (R)	53.0	151,380
		Kristen Carlson (D)	47.0	134,132
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	20

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 285,532 (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.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Kristen Carlson defeated Andrew Learned and Raymond Pena Jr. in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kristen Carlson	53.4	24,498
		Andrew Learned	31.6	14,509
		Raymond Pena Jr.	15.1	6,912

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,919
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• James Gregory Pilkington (D)
• Jeffrey Rabinowitz (D)
• Greg Williams (D)
• Cameron Magnuson (D)
• Phil Hornback (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15

Ross Spano defeated Neil Combee, Sean Harper, Danny Kushmer, and Ed Shoemaker in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 15 on August 28, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ross Spano	44.1	26,904
		Neil Combee	33.8	20,590
		Sean Harper	9.9	6,018
		Danny Kushmer	6.7	4,067
		Ed Shoemaker	5.5	3,379

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 60,958
= 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

• Curt Rogers (R)

2016

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Dennis Ross (R) defeated Jim Lange (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent in August.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dennis Ross Incumbent	57.5%	182,999
	Democratic	Jim Lange	42.5%	135,475
Total Votes				318,474
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2014

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 15th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Dennis Ross (R) defeated Alan Cohn (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dennis Ross Incumbent	60.3%	128,750
	Democratic	Alan Cohn	39.7%	84,832
Total Votes				213,582
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2012

See also: Florida's 15th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 15th District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent from the 12th District, Dennis A. Ross won the election in the district.

2010
On November 2, 2010, Bill Posey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Shannon Roberts (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bill Posey incumbent	64.7%	157,079
	Democratic	Shannon Roberts	35.3%	85,595
Total Votes				242,674

2008
On November 4, 2008, Bill Posey won election to the United States House. He defeated Stephen Blythe (D), Frank Zilaitis (I) and Trevor Lowing (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bill Posey	53.1%	192,151
	Democratic	Stephen Blythe	42%	151,951
	No Party Affiliation	Frank Zilaitis	3.9%	14,274
	No Party Affiliation	Travor Lowing	1%	3,495
Total Votes				361,871

2006
On November 7, 2006, Dave Weldon won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bob Bowman (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Weldon incumbent	56.3%	125,965
	Democratic	Bob Bowman	43.7%	97,834
Total Votes				223,799

2004
On November 2, 2004, Dave Weldon won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Simon Pristoop (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Weldon incumbent	65.4%	210,388
	Democratic	Simon Pristoop	34.6%	111,538
Total Votes				321,926

2002
On November 5, 2002, Dave Weldon won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jim Tso (D) and Donald Gibbens (Write-in) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Weldon incumbent	63.1%	146,414
	Democratic	Jim Tso	36.8%	85,433
	Write-in	Donald Gibbens	0%	10
Total Votes				231,857

2000
On November 7, 2000, Dave Weldon won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Patsy Ann Kurth (D) and Gerry L. Newby (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 15 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Weldon incumbent	58.8%	176,189
	Democratic	Patsy Ann Kurth	39.2%	117,511
	Independent	Gerry L. Newby	1.9%	5,744
	N/A	Write-in	0%	1
Total Votes				299,445

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 15
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Florida District 15
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 15th 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 15th District contained most of Brevard County south of the city of Cocoa, all of Indian River County, most of Osceola County, and a very small portion of Polk County. The district also took in Kissimmee, Melbourne and Vero Beach.

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+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 15th the 192nd 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+4. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 15th the 202nd 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) 51.0%-47.9%.

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+4. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 15th the 199th 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 47.9% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 51.0%.

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+6. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 6 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Florida's 15th Congressional District the 187th 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 0.97. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.97 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Florida
• Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2024
• Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2022
• Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2020
• Florida's 15th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 15

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)