A trio of incumbent U.S. Representatives who serve parts of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast easily won their respective primaries on Tuesday.
DISTRICT 18
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast declared victory Tuesday night in the District 18 Republican primary.
Mast held a commanding lead over challenger Nick Vessio all evening, and released this statement, in part, to WPTV:
"With tonight’s primary victory, I want to say thank you once more for allowing me to fight to represent our community. I will always fight as I did in combat, with every damn thing I have!
My time in Congress has been spent working with anybody willing to fight to clean up our waterways, help my fellow veterans, support our neighbor’s recovering from coronavirus, defend seniors and more. In short, my job is fighting all day, every day for all people I have the honor to represent."
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Mast, who took office in 2017, is the incumbent in District 18, which includes parts of Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, Stuart, and Jupiter.
On the Democratic side, Pam Keith, an attorney and former U.S. Navy lawyer, easily defeated challenger Oz Vasquez.
"This is the fourth race she's run in now, gone out there and said things like, all Republicans are white supremacists. All Republicans are racist. It's open season on Republicans" Mast said. "The reason that that's so bad is because the way you have to operate as a representative is that anybody that comes into your office, regardless of what they think or their political party, you gotta do every single thing you can to help them."
"He has a certain approach to how he interacts with Governor DeSantis, how he interacts with Donald Trump," Keith said. "I think those are things that we can raise and criticize. I am a veteran as well. I served the country that we both love. I have a very different perspective on how to represent veterans."
Keith has received several high-profile endorsements, including former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
DISTRICT 20
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, who's currently serving his 14th term in Congress, easily won the District 20 Democratic primary, defeating opponent Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick.
Hastings was first elected to Congress in 1992, and released this statement to WPTV:
"I am humbled and honored to have once again earned the trust of my fellow Floridians to serve as the Democratic nominee for the 20th Congressional district. I look forward to November’s general election and continuing to fight in the 117th Congress. The next two years will be a defining moment in our nation’s history, and one thing is certain: I am fired up and remain committed to putting everything into this job in service to our community, state, and nation. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of my supporters. Over the coming months, I will do everything I can to support the Biden/Harris campaign, so that we put our country back on track and reclaim America’s place as a leader on the world stage."
District 20 includes parts of West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
DISTRICT 21
Another landslide victory came for U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who beat opponent Guido Weiss in the District 21 Democratic primary.
Frankel, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, previously served as the mayor of West Palm Beach.
"Obviously, I'm happy about it. I feel privileged to serve the people of Palm Beach County," Frankel said. "I am totally focused on trying to help people get relief from this COVID pandemic."
Frankel will take on Laura Loomer in the November election after Loomer won the District 21 Republican primary on Tuesday.
Loomer, the self-described "most banned woman on the internet," has been barred from virtually every social media platform, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft.
DISTRICT 22
James Pruden will take on U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch in the November election after winning the District 22 Republican primary on Tuesday.
Pruden is a retired business law attorney who lives in Parkland.
Deutch ran unopposed on the Democratic ticket.
District 22 runs from Fort Lauderdale north to Boca Raton and westward to communities in Broward County.
