Republican Carlos Gimenez Defeats Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez smiles at his arrival at an immigration hearing at the Cou
AP Photo/Alan Diaz
Sean Moran

Carlos Gimenez (R), mayor of Miami-Dade, defeated Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) in Florida’s 26th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.

Gimenez defeated Mucarsel-Powell in Florida’s 26th district, which serves as a pickup for Republicans in their bid to take back the House majority. Republicans only need a net 17 seats to regain the House majority:

Dan Conston, president of the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), released a statement on Tuesday, cheering Gimenez’s victory. Conston said:

South Florida is tired of the dysfunction in Washington and tonight they elected the perfect man in Carlos Gimenez to bring people together and get the job done. A Cuban immigrant, former firefighter and successful Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Mayor Gimenez knows just what it takes to clean up Washington, rebuild our economy, and fight for middle class families.

The CLF spent more than $4.1 million in television and digital advertising to support Gimenez’s bid for Congress.

The race served as a potential pickup for Republicans as polling during the summer found that Gimenez led Mucarsel-Powell by five points, according to a poll conducted on behalf of the CLF.

In July, the poll found that Gimenez beat Mucarsel-Powell among Hispanic voters, 52 to 33 percent, and Cuban voters prefer Gimenez over the incumbent Democrat by a 37 percent margin.

“Mayor Carlos Gimenez enjoys high name identification and a strong image rating with voters in the district,” the polling memo stated. “Fully, 76% know the mayor well enough to have formed an opinion of him, with a majority of voters in the district, 51%, viewing Gimenez favorably.”

Florida’s 26th Congressional District was one of the many congressional seats that Democrats flipped during the 2018 midterm elections. Mucarsel-Powell defeated incumbent Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R) by 1.8 percentage points during the 2018 midterm elections.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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