FORT PIERCE, Fla. — WPTV is taking a closer look at the candidates in the race for Florida's 21st congressional district, which stretches from northern Palm Beach County through Martin County and St. Lucie County on the Treasure Coast.
While northern Palm Beach County and Martin are heavily Republican, Democrats have a slight edge in St. Lucie County.
Both candidates in this race are military veterans. They are also both parents who often speak publicly about deep love for the area, but they sharply differ when it comes to party affiliation, politics and the best path forward for the people who live in the district.
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WPTV interviewed U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., at a coffee shop, Cool Beans Brew, not far from his home in Fort Pierce.
While drinking juice instead of coffee (he calls it a "crutch"), Mast answered questions about how his military service shapes his decisions, inflation, immigration, water quality and more.
"I'm a military guy, as we've already discussed. I don't take my foot off the gas at all," Mast said while answering a question about outspending his opponent, Corinna Balderramos Robinson, by way of campaign finances. "I go through the finish line in whatever I'm doing. If I'm swinging the bat of policy for my community, I swing that bat as hard as I possibly can every single time, and that's the only way I know how to live."
To see the full interview with Mast, watch the video above. Click here to see the full interview with Balderramos Robinson.
