Ryan Nicol
Lauren Levy, a lawyer from Boca Raton, says she’ll challenge Republican Rep. Mike Caruso in the House District 89 contest next year.
Levy announced Monday she would run for the seat with a statement citing some of her top priorities.
“We should be making it easier, not more difficult, for every citizen of legal age in this country to vote,” Levy said Monday.
“Ron DeSantis and his compatriots in the Florida legislature — our current representative in District 89, Mike Caruso, included — have prioritized profit over people. Despite the clear science, they have shown scant regard and respect for people’s health and the families who have lost loved ones almost two years into this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Regarding income inequality, the fact that Caruso has a 100% rating by Americans For Prosperity points to a belief that government bears little responsibility for the social welfare of its citizens.”
Levy is the first Democrat to file for the seat. Caruso has already filed to run for a third term in the House.
Caruso won the seat in 2018 by just 32 votes out of more than 78,000 cast. But in 2020, he won his reelection bid by double digits.
It’s unclear how Florida’s redistricting process will affect the district’s current boundaries, which covers an area running up the coast of Palm Beach County including Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. But Levy is touting her resume as a lawyer with hopes the race skews closer to its 2018 margins than last year’s.
“As a practicing immigration attorney with standing to represent my clients in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, I know how to advocate, and I’m ready to advocate for Florida’s 89th district. Together, we can put Florida on a trajectory of progress,” Levy added.
