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Florida's 5th Congressional District election, 2016
2018 →
← 2014
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November 8, 2016 |
August 30, 2016 |
Al Lawson  |
Corrine Brown |
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Cook Political Report: Solid D[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe D[3] |
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The 5th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Al Lawson (D) defeated Glo Smith (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Lawson defeated incumbent Corrine Brown and L.J. Holloway in the Democratic primary on August 30, 2016.[4][5]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Florida utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[6][7]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Corrine Brown (D), who was first elected in 1992.
Florida's 5th Congressional District snakes vertically through northeastern Florida and includes portions of Duval, Clay, Putnam, Alachua, Marion, Lake, Seminole and Orange counties.[8]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Al Lawson |
64.2% | 194,549 | |
| Republican | Glo Smith | 35.8% | 108,325 | |
| Total Votes | 302,874 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Al Lawson |
47.6% | 39,306 | ||
| Corrine Brown Incumbent | 39% | 32,235 | ||
| L.J. Holloway | 13.4% | 11,048 | ||
| Total Votes | 82,589 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections |
||||
Candidates
|
General election candidates: Al Lawson   Glo Smith |
|
Primary candidates:[9] |
|
Democratic L.J. Holloway[10] Al Lawson[11] |
Republican |
Redistricting
On July 9, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state's congressional district map was unconstitutional. The suit was brought to the court by the League of Women Voters and a coalition of other voter groups. David King, lead attorney for the League of Women Voters, said of the ruling, "This is a complete victory for the people of Florida who passed the Fair District amendment and sought fair representation where the Legislature didn't pick their voters. The Supreme Court accepted every challenge we made and ordered the Legislature to do it over."[13]
As a result of the ruling, eight congressional districts were ordered to be redrawn: FL-05, FL-13, FL-14, FL-21, FL-22, FL-25, FL-26 and FL-27. However, the redrawing of these districts had an effect on most of the state's other congressional districts as well. The court gave the legislature until August 25, 2015, to complete the redrawn map.[13]
The House and Senate could not reach an agreement on a new map in late August. Each chamber presented its own map, but they did not agree on which map to use. As a result, Judge Terry Lewis scheduled a trial in order to pick a map. The trial began on September 24, 2015, and lasted for three days. Following the trial, Judge Lewis recommended a map to the Florida Supreme Court, which had the ultimate decision as to which map to use.[14][15][16]
On December 2, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the map that was recommended by the voters' coalition.
In total, 24 of Florida's 27 congressional districts saw some change with the new map. The most drastic changes were made to the 5th and 10th Congressional Districts. The new 5th and 10th are each composed of less than 40 percent of their old seats. The redrawn map is displayed below.
Race background
Brown's ethics investigation
On March 23, 2016, the House Ethics Committee said that it opened an investigation into Brown. According to the committee, Brown is being investigated due to "allegations that she engaged in improper conduct relating to certain outside organizations, including allegations that she may have conspired with other persons in connection with fraudulent activity, improperly solicited charitable donations, used campaign funds for personal purposes, used official resources for impermissible non-official purposes, failed to comply with tax laws and made false statements, and/or failed to make required disclosures, to the House of Representatives and Federal Election Commission."[17]
On July 8, 2016, Brown and her Chief of Staff Elias "Ronnie" Simmons pleaded not guilty to “charges of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction and filing of false tax returns.” According to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, "Congresswoman Brown and her chief of staff are alleged to have used the congresswoman's official position to solicit over $800,000 in donations to a supposed charitable organization, only to use that organization as a personal slush fund.” According to the indictment, donations to Brown’s charity, One Door, went into Brown’s and Simmons’ bank accounts and paid for “repairs to Brown's car and vacations to locations such as the Bahamas, Miami Beach and Los Angeles.” In addition, the indictment alleges that Brown used One Door funds to pay for “a golf tournament, lavish receptions during an annual Washington conference and the use of luxury boxes for a Beyonce concert and an NFL game between the Washington Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars.”[18]
After the hearing, Brown said, "My heart is just really heavy. But I'm looking forward to a speedy day in court to vindicate myself. We will present the other side."[18]
Media
Al Lawson
|
District history
2014
The 5th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Corrine Brown (D) defeated Gloreatha Scurry-Smith (R) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown Incumbent |
65.5% | 112,340 | |
| Republican | Gloreatha Scurry-Smith | 34.5% | 59,237 | |
| Total Votes | 171,577 | |||
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||||
2012
The 5th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent from the 3rd District, Corrine Brown won the election in the district.[19]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown Incumbent |
70.8% | 190,472 | |
| Republican | LeAnne Kolb | 26.3% | 70,700 | |
| Independent | Eileen Fleming | 3% | 7,978 | |
| Independent | Bruce Ray Riggs | 0% | 3 | |
| Total Votes | 269,153 | |||
| Source: Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Florida elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Florida in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| February 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| March 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| March 15, 2016 | Election date | Presidential primary election | |
| April 4, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections | |
| April 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| May 2, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates begins | |
| May 6, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates ends | |
| May 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| May 23, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections | |
| June 10, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| June 20, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates begins | |
| June 24, 2016 | Ballot access | Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates ends | |
| July 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| July 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| July 29, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 4, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| August 5, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 12, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 19, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 26, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| August 30, 2016 | Election date | Primary election | |
| September 9, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| September 22, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| September 23, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 7, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 14, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 21, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| October 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| November 4, 2016 | Campaign finance | Campaign finance report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| November 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| February 6, 2017 | Campaign finance | Termination report due, if applicable | |
| Sources: Florida Division of Elections, "2015-2017 Election Dates Calendar," June 4, 2015 Florida Division of Elections, "Calendar of Reporting Dates for 2016 Candidates Registered with the Division of Elections," accessed January 11, 2016 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed July 18, 2016
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Florida Department of State, "Candidate Listing for 2016 General Election," accessed June 25, 2016
- ↑ Politico, " Florida House Races Results," August 30, 2016
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 23, 2024
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Closed Primary Election," accessed July 23, 2024
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Holloway for Congress, "Home," accessed May 17, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Lawson announces run for Congress," December 15, 2015
- ↑ Glo for Congress, "Home," accessed August 18, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Tampa Bay Times, "Florida Supreme Court orders new congressional map with eight districts to be redrawn," July 9, 2015
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Redistricting session collapses amid acrimony," August 21, 2015
- ↑ Bradenton Herald, "Trial will be held on new Florida congressional districts," September 12, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Final day of map trial highlights Miami-Dade race politics," September 29, 2015
- ↑ Miami Herald, "U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown under investigation by House Ethics Committee," March 23, 2016
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 ABC News, "US Rep. Corrine Brown Indicted After Fraud Investigation," accessed July 8, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Florida," November 6, 2012
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!
