Jacob Ogles
Mike Haridopolos is officially headed to Congress.
Per early vote returns, the Indian Rocks Beach Republican was winning all three counties in Florida’s 8th Congressional District. That means he has beaten Democrat Sandy Kennedy, and will succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Bill Posey in the House
The victory on Tuesday was no surprise. As of the closing of books for the General Election, CD 8 was home to more than 263,000 registered Republicans, compared to some 145,000 Democrats and 137,000 voters without party affiliation.
In many ways, Haridopolos’ ascension to Congress seemed determined on the last day of candidate qualification for Florida’s federal races. That’s when Posey, a Republican representing the Space Coast first elected to the U.S. House in 2008, announced publicly that he would retire an hour after the qualifying deadline had passed.
Haridopolos, a former Florida Senate President, had opened a candidate account prior to the announcement. Posey acknowledged he had spoken to Haridopolos, his longtime Congressional Finance Committee Chair, before making his decision not to seek another term.
“Without going into a lot of personal details, stars aligned during the past week and Mike decided he was ready for Congress,” Posey said. “I enthusiastically endorse him and will do everything I can to help him get elected.”
The announcement precluded runs by other prominent Republicans in the region. GOP politicians in the state quickly announced support for Haridopolos, who remained active in politics for years.
Haridopolos easily won a Republican Primary over John Hearton, and quickly received the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
“Mike is ready to fight for border security and to tackle Bidenflation head-on. We have no doubt the voters will send him to Congress this November,” read a statement from NRCC spokesperson Delanie Bomer.
Democrats in the Primary chose lawyer Sandy Kennedy as the nominee against Haridopolos in the General Election. She promised to fight against Republican policies regarding the environment.
“I support protecting environmental regulation by revising environmental statutes to address the overruling of the Chevron decision,” Kennedy posted on Facebook.
Heading into Tuesday, Haridopolos posted photos campaigning in the district, making clear he took nothing for granted.
“We are ready for Election Day!” he posted on X.
