Republican Curt Clawson cruised to an easy victory in Florida's 19th Congressional District on Tuesday in a special election to replace former Rep. Trey Radel, who resigned his seat in January after he was convicted of cocaine possession.
With all precincts reporting, Clawson had earned 67 percent of the vote. Democrat April Freeman had 29.3 percent to finish second, while Libertarian Ray Netherwood finished a distant third with 3.7 percent.
A businessman who worked in the auto industry, Clawson said he would travel to Washington on Wednesday to begin his new job. His first term will be brief, however, as he is up for re-election in November.
"We have leaders who say our best days are behind us . . . I reject that premise. I reject that theory," Clawson, 54, told supporters after his win, reports
NaplesNews.com.
As for Freeman, she said her campaign to defeat Clawson in November starts Wednesday.
"I was unknown six weeks ago," she said in the Naples News story. "We pulled some people our way."
The district covers an area along south Florida's Gulf Coast including Naples and Fort Myers. Radel won in 2012 with 62 percent of the vote.
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