Republican victories in Florida helped pave the way for a GOP Majority in the House, the Washington Examiner is reporting.
In the midterms, Republicans picked up four House seats in the Sunshine State, sending fresh faces Anna Paulina Luna, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills, and Aaron Bean to the House next week.
The Examiner pointed out that, with a slim Republican majority in the House, the victories in Florida proved decisive.
Luna succeeded in flipping former Rep. Charlie Crist's open seat. Crist, a Democrat, was defeated in his bid for governor by incumbent Ron DeSantis, a Republican.
"What contributed to our win was not just the fact that our legislature fought for constitutional congressional maps but also too that we largely placed an emphasis on a grassroots campaign," Luna told the Examiner. "So, by the time I was done with my election, I had knocked on over 50,000 doors and made over ... what seemed like 90,000 phone calls. And that was not paid knockers or paid staff; that was volunteers.
"I think that yes, money does help for elections, but also you have to have a connection to the people that you're hoping to represent," Luna continued. "I saw a crossover from both Democrats and independents. I did not change my message. People respect the fact that I'm not from Washington, D.C., that I'm funded by people's dollars and not special interests. And that's really the message I hope to bring to the Republican Party."
Rep.-elect Lee, DeSantis' former secretary of state, won her district by 17 points.
"My background is in law, and I spent many years focused on our criminal justice system and also working on a variety of different criminal cases and issues in our community, including things related to immigration," Lee told the Examiner. "So, public safety and community safety are very important to me, and I look forward to being a part of any legislation or conversation that is surrounding those issues, and how we might ensure that they're a priority here in Congress."
Republicans in Florida and nationally are praising DeSantis for pushing state lawmakers to adopt his redistricting of congressional maps, according to Politico.
Although Republican lawmakers initially were reluctant to support DeSantis' mission, many have now praised the governor for encouraging his own party to approve his congressional maps, the outlet reported.
"Republicans in Congress owe a big thank you to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose insistence on redrawing the state's congressional districts led to a four-seat pickup in the U.S. House…," said Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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