Mitch Perry
Siesta Key attorney Margaret Good defeated Ruta Jouniari for the Democratic nomination in a special election in Florida House District 72
Good won in a landslide, defeating her opponent by 44 points, 72%-28%. Good had 6,144 votes to Jouniari’s 2,342.
Good now advances to the special general election scheduled for Feb. 13.
“I am humbled and overwhelmed by the showing of support this community has given our campaign tonight,” said Good. “It speaks volumes about the strength of the organization our team has built all across the district, as well as Sarasota’s desire for change from failed Republican policies both nationally and in Tallahassee.”
The battle had been depicted as a fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic party. Good is a mainstream Democrat who state party officials think has the potential to flip the seat from red to blue in 2018.
Journiari was the more progressive candidate who had the backing of the Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus, in part, for her support for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and a Medicare-for-all style health care system.
Good hopes to unify the party as she heads into the general election.
“We want to thank and recognize Ruta Jouniari for running a spirited campaign based on ideas,” said Good. “We cannot defeat James Buchanan and the Rick Scott-led Florida Republicans without the help of folks like her and her supporters, and we call now for a time of unity towards a grassroots, people-powered campaign that can flip District 72 blue again.”
Good goes into the general election phase of the campaign with $51,170 in her campaign account. She also has another $23,000 in her committee, New Day Florida.
Sitting back and taking in the results is Republican James Buchanan, who has $169,398 on hand heading into the holidays.
Libertarian Alison Foxall will also be on the general election ballot. She has approximately $8,844 on hand.
The special election was called for after GOP incumbent Alex Miller surprisingly stepped down fin September, less than a year after being elected.
Buchanan will be the favorite in the general; statistics from last year show HD 72 with about 52,000 Republican voters compared to about 35,000 Democrats and another 30,000 with no party affiliation. Miller’s landslide victory over Ed James III last year came alongside a 5-point win for President Donald Trump in the district.
2 comments
Elizabeth
December 6, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Maybe this will send a message to the so-called “progressives” that the voting public is not left-leaning zealots. Their create absurd “purity” tests for Democratic candidates, like doubling the min. wage across the board without considering the consequences to small businesses or whether appropriate in smaller communities with less sustainable economies. They push “Medicare for All,” a more palatable, if not deceptive, name for Single Payer, again without considering the ramifications. First of all, Medicare pays less benefits than many on ACA pay out of pocket, and requires co-insurance to make up the 20% difference. They have no clue of the impact on the US economy of wiping out in ‘one fell swoop’ health insurance companies that comprise 6% of the economy. With conservatives in control of much of the country, it will take baby steps to get where we want and need to be.
SparkDogg
December 7, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Miller’s landslide victory over James was much more about his sexual misconduct than a red or blue thing. Polling showed he was ahead in the race until news of his exploits were fed to the press. Not saying he didn’t deserve his fate but timing of the news was consistent with the polling data, not the date of the alleged offence.
Comments are closed.