Eric Lynn frustration builds as Anna Paulina Luna skips another debate

Eric Lynn couldn't stop Anna Paulina Luna from taking Pinellas County.

The Democratic candidate for Florida’s 13th Congressional District is again slamming his GOP opponent for skipping a candidate forum.

Eric Lynn, a former national security adviser in the Barack Obama administration, participated in the Council of North County Neighborhoods & Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce forum.

His Republican opponent, Anna Paulina Luna, did not.

Lynn’s campaign released a list of events the Republican has bucked, including an AARP and Bay News 9 debate on Aug. 2, which the campaign said she canceled “at the last minute;” a Bay News 9 debate on Sept. 21; a Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce forum on Sept. 23; and a candidate interview on WMNF Community radio on Oct. 4. Those are in addition to the most recent forum on Monday.

The list also included Luna’s declined invitation from Lynn — issued on Sept. 1 — to participate in three debates.

The Lynn campaign claims Luna is refusing to address voters about what they describe as her “extremist views,” citing Luna’s self-identification as a “pro-life extremist” during a campaign event, her stance on arming teachers in schools and her continued insistence that Donald Trump won the 2020 election.

“When your views are out-of-touch and too extreme, you hide them,” Lynn Campaign Manager Andrew Bernucca said.

“Anna Luna knows that every time voters find out more information about her, they’re less likely to vote for her. That’s why she’s scared to debate Eric Lynn and why she’s scared to explain her views. If the people of FL-13 want an honest and transparent representative, Luna has made it clear it won’t be her.”

The campaign has also been hitting Luna over a comment on Fox 13 saying she would have voted against the PACT Act, a measure to expand health care for veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals at a cost of $280 billion over a decade.

The measure passed the U.S. House 342-88 with unanimous support from Democrats while a minority of Republicans, including six members of Florida’s delegation, voted against it. The campaign launched an ad in late August touching on the PACT Act comment, as well as abortion and Luna’s contention that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election.

The race is expected to be tight. Lynn and Luna are running to replace former U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist who left office earlier this year as he focused his efforts on running for Governor.

Luna ran against Crist two years ago unsuccessfully, at a time when the district favored Democrats. Redistricting shifted district boundaries northward, giving the district a red lean.

The newly drawn district has nearly 31,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, with 208,668 GOP voters and 178,023 Democrats, according to the latest L2 voter data. Another 164,112 voters are registered without party affiliation.

It’s a key race for both parties as Democrats fight to keep the district blue in an election year that, by most analyses, is likely to flip control of the House to a Republican majority. Meanwhile, CD 13 is a key pickup opportunity for Republicans as they pursue that goal.

A poll last week showed the candidates locked in a dead heat at 47% support each. While that David Binder Research poll showed a tie, momentum may be on Lynn’s side. Lynn gained 2 percentage points since August, when he posted just 45% support in a survey by the same pollster. Luna, meanwhile, slipped in the poll, from 48% support in August to 47% last week.

In the most recent poll, Lynn led among independent voters with 48% support to Luna’s 43%. Lynn has bipartisan support, including endorsements from Republicans Beverly Young, the widow of former CD 13 Congressman Bill Young; Belleair Shore Mayor Bob Schmidt; Seminole Vice Mayor Jim Olliver; Redington Shores Commissioner Jennie Blackburn; and former Pinellas County Commissioner Susan Latvala, who served as a Republican and is now an independent.