Kelly Hayes
Eric Lynn, the Democratic nominee for Florida’s 13th Congressional District, raised $330,000 from April through June, his campaign announced Thursday. That brings his total to over $1.4 million between his campaign account and the Eric Lynn Victory Fund.
“I am grateful for the continuous and growing support my campaign has received,” Lynn said in a statement. “This is a tough race — with the results impacting women’s freedom, the health of our planet, community safety, and economic security for middle-class families all across Pinellas — but it is clear that we have the support it will take to be successful in 2022.”
Lynn’s campaign provided the most recent financial update. More information will be available when finance reports are due to the Federal Election Commission next week.
Lynn is now the lone Democrat running in CD 13 after state Reps. Ben Diamond and Michele Rayner dropped their respective campaigns in mid-May. Democrats have held the CD 13 seat since 2016, when Charlie Crist defeated David Jolly.
But a new congressional map signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis substantially reconfigures Tampa Bay. While CD 13 remains contained within Pinellas County, Downtown St. Petersburg and many Democratic portions of the old district end up in Florida’s 14th Congressional District, represented by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat. That leaves CD 13 favoring Republicans.
The result for CD 13? The district goes from one where Democrat Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election by 4 percentage points to a seat Republican Donald Trump won by 7 points.
With redistricting altering the partisan makeup of CD 13 from purple to light red, the Democratic nominee will need the money. He has $1.1 million cash-on-hand — a nearly $300k lead over the entire CD 13 field. And, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has made clear they are ready to fight to keep the seat blue.
“In order to protect our democracy and hold our house majority, it’s critical that we keep FL-13 blue in 2022,” Lynn’s campaign manager Andrew Bernucca said in a statement.
“With Republican candidates in FL-13 calling for national Don’t Say Gay legislation and continuing to spread the Big Lie, we need a candidate who’s honest and trustworthy, and will fight for Pinellas values like protecting a women’s freedom to choose, protecting our environment, and tax cuts for middle-class families. Eric is that candidate, and can get the job done, delivering a victory for not just Pinellas but for Floridians and Americans nationwide.”
The Democratic nominee will go on to face the winner of the crowded Republican Primary. The GOP field includes former prosecutor Kevin Hayslett, nonprofit founder Audrey Henson, Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna, Republican strategist Amanda Makki and Christine Quinn. Makki lost the Republican Primary to Luna in 2020.
Crist has endorsed Lynn as his preferred successor for the Pinellas County district.
Lynn has rolled out a series of endorsements since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for CD 13. In the last few weeks, Lynn has announced backing from former U.S. Reps. Jim Davis, Ron Klein and Kendrick Meek, as well as former state Rep. Jennifer Webb, St. Petersburg City Council member Copley Gerdes and Pinellas County Commissioner Pat Gerard.
