In four Republican U.S. House primaries Tuesday night, conservative “outsiders” were triumphant after heated races.
The races were particularly noteworthy because of the nominations of two Trump-style Republicans who happen to be women and a conservative stalwart who is Black.
In Florida’s 3rd District (Gainesville-Ocala), Kat Cammack, former deputy chief of staff and campaign manager to conservative Rep. Ted Yoho, emerged atop a 10-candidate primary with 25% of the vote.
Like Yoho, Cammack, 32, ran as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and vowed to be a voice for her fellow millennial women who are conservatives.
In the 13th District, U.S. Air Force veteran Anna Paulina Luna, another Trump-style conservative, topped a four-candidate field. Among those Luna defeated was Amanda Makki, favorite of the local GOP “establishment” and a former staffer to moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
Luna, who received tweeted congratulations on her nomination from Trump, now faces an uphill battle against Democrat Rep. Charlie Crist.
As expected, Republican Rep. Ross Spano went down to defeat in Florida’s 15th District. One-termer Spano is under investigation for illegally loaning his campaign $180,000.
The winner in the 15th was Lakeland County Commissioner Scott Franklin, who had the backing of conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
In the 19th District, State Rep. Byron Donalds, a conservative who is Black, won the Republican nomination to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Francis Rooney. Donalds, a stalwart conservative, led a field of 12 by 774 votes, or 0.75% of the vote.
Throughout the campaign, Donalds, 41, freely discussed his brushes with the law as a younger man. These include a 1997 charge of marijuana distribution, which was later dismissed. Donalds spoke of his missteps as a story of “redemption” and becoming a better person.
Donalds and his wife operate a charter school in Collier County. Considered a cinch in the heavily-Republican district, Donalds would be the only Black Republican House member if elected.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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