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Florida's 13th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 18 Republican primary)

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Florida's 13th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 24, 2020
Primary: August 18, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Charlie Crist (Democratic)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Florida
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Florida's 13th Congressional District
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Florida elections, 2020
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Anna Paulina Luna defeated Amanda Makki, George Buck, and two others in Florida’s 13th Congressional District's Republican primary on August 18, 2020. Luna received 36% of the vote followed by Makki and Buck with 29% and 26%, respectively. No other candidate received over 10% of the vote.

Luna, Makki, and Buck led the field in fundraising and media coverage. Heading into the election, the incumbent was Charlie Crist (D), who was first elected in 2016. The district is rated by independent outlets as Solid Democratic.

Amanda Makki is a lawyer who has worked with the Army General Counsel and with U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R) and Sen. Susan Collins (R) as a Senior Health Advisor. Leading up to the election, she was a partner at the K&L Gates law firm, where she focused on healthcare policy.[1] Makki’s campaign website said her priorities included reducing taxes and business regulations, reducing healthcare spending, and supporting veterans’ access to resources.[2]

Anna Paulina Luna is a veteran of the Air Force. After her time in the military, she worked as Director of Hispanic Engagement at Turning Point USA and as Chairwoman of Hispanic Initiatives at PragerU.[3] Paulina Luna said her key issues included supporting firearm ownership and increasing funding for border security, along with supporting congressional term limits and opposing government employees becoming lobbyists.[4]

George Buck is a veteran of the Army, a retired firefighter, and a former assistant professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health.[5] He was the Republican nominee in the district in 2018 and lost to incumbent Charlie Crist (D) by 15.2% of the vote. Buck’s campaign website said his priorities included opposing abortion, supporting firearm ownership, and increasing funding for border security.[6]

Sheila Scott Griffin was also running in the primary. Sharon Barry Newby unofficially withdrew from the race on August 7 and endorsed Anna Paulina Luna.[7]

As of July 29, Makki led the field in fundraising with $1,207,093 in receipts and $722,486 in spending, followed by George Buck with $1,000,185 in receipts and $969,391 in spending, and Paulina Luna with $997,556 in receipts and $678,651 in spending.[8] Makki was endorsed by House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, Paulina Luna was endorsed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) and Charlie Kirk, and Buck was endorsed by Vets for Trump.[9][3][10]

Anna Paulina Luna completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Survey. Click here to view her responses.

This page focuses on Florida's 13th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Florida modified its candidate filing procedures as follows:

  • Candidate filing procedures: Candidates allowed to submit qualifying documents, including signed petitions, electronically.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 13

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Anna Paulina Luna
Anna Paulina Luna Candidate Connection
 
36.1
 
22,941
Image of Amanda Makki
Amanda Makki
 
28.3
 
17,967
Image of George Buck
George Buck
 
25.8
 
16,371
Image of Sheila Griffin
Sheila Griffin
 
6.8
 
4,329
Image of Sharon Barry Newby
Sharon Barry Newby (Unofficially withdrew) Candidate Connection
 
2.9
 
1,866

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 63,474
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = 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

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[11] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Anna Paulina Luna

Image of Anna Paulina Luna

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Anna Paulina Luna is a veteran and unapologetic conservative who is ready to lead the next generation in the fight against radical socialism. She knows first-hand the power of the American Dream. It's her life story. Today that Dream is at risk. Extreme liberals push more government and less freedom, while career politicians - in both parties - are more beholden to special interests than their constituents. Anna took an oath to defend our country in the Air Force. She's now ready to take that oath to Washington. It's time for a representative who knows what it means to be built, not bought."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

The American Dream is at risk. We need to fight back against the Left's socialist agenda to save it. Freedom is a hallmark of American society and we must defend our constitutional rights from being infringed.

For too long career politicians and lobbyists have dominated control of our political system. We need a ban on lobbying and term limits on members so people can stop profiting off our government. We have seen this have a national effect, not just with the "SWAMP" reputation of our current representative and DC, but its dangerous outcomes resulting in corporate lobbyists furthering and aiding the opioid crisis. Currently 1 person dies every 36 hours in Pinellas county. It is our responsibility to protect the people of this country and our district from these dangers. I intend on tackling this issue head on.

Our community is coastal. Everything we do from our economy, to fishing, to tourism, to small business is tied into the health of our oceans. Instead of killing small business with an environmental tax, why are we not incentivizing these businesses to go green by giving them tax cuts? I plan on getting this done not just locally but nationally! I also and committed to ensuring that transportation and road-restoration is funded responsibly. The lifeline of a nation is its ability to transport goods. Being that we are one of the top fishing communities in the country, this is a top issue for me-ensuring that the district's economic needs are being met.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Florida District 13 in 2020.


District analysis

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

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+2, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Florida's 13th Congressional District the 184th most Democratic nationally.[12]

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 1.03. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.03 points toward that party.[13]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[14] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[15] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
George Buck Republican Party $1,136,065 $1,133,626 $2,447 As of December 31, 2020
Sheila Griffin Republican Party $60,159 $58,711 $1,448 As of December 31, 2020
Anna Paulina Luna Republican Party $3,326,715 $3,286,007 $40,708 As of December 31, 2020
Amanda Makki Republican Party $1,314,551 $1,314,369 $181 As of December 31, 2020
Sharon Barry Newby Republican Party $57,373 $57,373 $0 As of September 21, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


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.[16][17]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[18]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[19][20][21]

Race ratings: Florida's 13th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LinkedIn, "Amanda Makki," accessed August 18, 2020
  2. ↑ Amanda Makki 2020 campaign website, "Meet Amanda," accessed August 18, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Anna Paulina Luna 2020 campaign website, "Meet Anna," accessed August 18, 2020
  4. ↑ Anna Paulina Luna 2020 campaign website, "Platform," accessed August 18, 2020
  5. ↑ George Buck 2020 campaign website, "Meet George," accessed August 18, 2020
  6. ↑ George Buck 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed August 18, 2020
  7. ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Sharon Newby drops out of congressional race and endorses Anna Paulina Luna," August 7, 2020
  8. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Campaign finance data," accessed August 18, 2020
  9. ↑ Amanda Makki 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed August 18, 2020
  10. ↑ George Buck 2020 campaign website, "Major Pro-Trump Veterans Group Backs George Buck," accessed August 18, 2020
  11. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  12. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  13. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  14. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  15. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  16. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 23, 2024
  17. ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Closed Primary Election," accessed July 23, 2024
  18. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  19. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  20. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  21. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018


Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Ashley Moody (R)
Rick Scott (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)


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