With Democrats expected to lose the majority in the House of Representatives, largely because of the pro-Democratic Socialist agenda and due to the upcoming redistricting of congressional seats, some Democrats like Florida Rep. Charlie Crist have decided to make a quick run of the exit.
The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature led by House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson, is tasked with redrawing the lines later this year, and Rep. Charlie Crist’s congressional seat is expected to be drawn into a more favorable seat for Republicans.
Because the Cook Political Report lists Florida’s 13th congressional district as “Even,” it is only natural for Republicans to look to move the line in order to make the seat a lot more favorable for the Republican nominee.
During the 2020 presidential election, Rep. Crist narrowly defeated former U.S. Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna by a 53-47 voter percentage margin.
Crist told The Floridian earlier this year that he felt the heat from Luna and pointed to the amount of money her campaign was able to raise against him during the cycle.
Now Crist is out and is again running for governor of Florida, but Luna is still in the hunt. The conservative firebrand who has recently garnered the endorsement of Rep Greg Steube (R), has been keeping a high profile on social media for her upcoming run to congress.
Luna’s 2020 Republican primary opponent, Attorney Amanda Makki, has not announced that she would be running in the open congressional seat, but her consistent appearances on Newsmax and other social media news platforms paints the picture of someone preparing for a run for public office.
We can expect a few more Republicans to jump into the primary race, but remember, just how drastic the lines in FL CD 13 are drawn could dictate who else jumps in the race.
One of the most intriguing and plausible Republican congressional candidates to challenge Luna is current Florida Speaker of the House, Chris Sprowls.
Speaker Sprowls has not said if he would run for a seat in congress, but there has been speculation in St. Petersburg and Tallahassee political circles that Sprowls was hoping the legislature would carved him out a new district during the redistricting process.
Sprowls is term-limited out in 2022, so why not run for a congressional office? Why not use his bully pulpit of Speaker of the House, ala Marco Rubio, as a stepping stool to run for Congress?
So, the congressional boundary between Crist’s congressional seat is only blocks from where Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ congressional seat begins. Sprowls, who has in the past tusseled with some ardent Conservative legislators, lives in Rep. Bilirakis’ district, so if the lines were pushed just north by even a few miles, it could put the popular Speaker of the Florida House in a position to have to make a decision on whether he will run for the seat or not.
Now, even if the boundaries are not moved north as we suggested, Sprowls can still run for congress in Florida’s 13th congressional district because an individual does not have to reside in the district he or she represents.
Also, lets not forget about term-limited Sen. Jeff Brandes, the pro-Pot champion from Pinellas County. Brandes would be a formidable opponent in the purple congressional district, but a Tallahassee source tells The Floridian that Brandes will most-likely be sitting the race out and focusing on his wife and six kids.
The Advantage
It could be said that Luna has the upper hand in a GOP congressional primary because she was on the ballot against Crist, and had 190,000 Floridians vote for her, but Sprowls also has an advantage in that he has helped frame Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ statewide legislative and economic agenda, an agenda that has enraged Florida Progressives, emboldened Republicans, and has garnered him a 50+ percent approval rating among voters across the state.
The wild card in the race could be Makki.
Makki lost the 2020 primary race to Luna by 7 percentage points and has provern herself to be a seasoned fundraiser.
In the end, President Trump will not be on the ticket in 2022, but Gov. DeSantis will.
DeSantis could be the deciding factor in many Republican primary races, particularly this one in Pinellas County.
If he runs, Sprowls will undoubtedly run on a pro-DeSantis, pro-Trump ‘Make Florida First Agenda’ campaign that would highlight all of the legislative wins he helped garner for the governor.
Advantage: The voters in Pinellas.
