Conservative activist Anna Paulina Luna, an Air Force veteran, will take on U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., in November.
With all votes in, Luna won the Republican primary in this Pinellas County district with 36 percent of the vote. Attorney Amanda Makki, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., took 28.5 percent of the vote followed by educator and veteran George Buck, the Republican nominee who challenged Crist in 2018, with 26 percent of the vote.
The rest of the field lagged behind in single digits. Attorney Sheila Griffin, a former city council candidate, took 7 percent while businesswoman Sharon Newby pulled 3 percent.
Jacob Curnow is running as a write-in candidate.
While this is technically a swing district, Crist has done well here in recent years after he defeated U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., in 2016. Crist is a longtime fixture in Florida politics, winning three state offices, including serving as governor, as a Republican. In 2010, he left the GOP to run for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation but lost to Republican Marco Rubio. After joining the Democrats at the end of 2012, Crist ran against Gov. Rick Scott in 2014 but came up short. He will start off the 2020 election cycle as the favorite over Luna.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
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