Scott Powers
St. Cloud businessman Wayne Liebnitzky and Kissimmee City Commissioner Wanda Rentas will force a Republican primary to go along with a bigger Democratic primary in Florida’s 9th Congressional District.
Rentas qualified Friday afternoon, two hours after the qualifying period closed, as elections officials worked feverishly to get through a backlog of filings..
The Democrats will have a four-way primary Aug. 30, featuring state Sen. Darren Soto of Orlando, Susannah Randolph of Orlando, Dena Grayson of Windermere and Valleri Crabtree of Kissimmee, all of whom qualified for the ballot.
The district leans heavily Democratic, and is currently represented by Grayson’s newlywed husband, Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Windermere, who is running for the U.S. Senate rather than for re-election. The district includes south-central Orange County, all of Osceola County and western Polk County.
