A special election for the Democratic nomination in Florida’s 20th Congressional District is still too close to call after a recent recount left two candidates separated by just five votes.
The southeast Florida district is one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the state and was represented by the late Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Democrat who died in April after a battle with cancer. So, the winner of the Democratic primary in the Ft. Lauderdale area is virtually assured of going to Congress in the Jan. 11, 2022, special election.
After a recount required by state law due to the slim margin between the candidates, healthcare CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick led Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness by just five votes out of more than 49,000 cast. On social media, both candidates expressed optimism about their chances.
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“It’s a rollercoaster, but I still have hope,” Holness wrote Friday on Twitter.
It’s a rollercoaster, but I still have hope. https://t.co/jakwmJn2HN
— Dale Holness (@HolnessforFL) November 6, 2021
“I believe,” Cherfilus-McCormick wrote.
I believe.?
?????? https://t.co/4AIxaUjmIo— Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, JD (@Sheila4Congress) November 5, 2021
The race is unlikely to be called before Friday, as both Palm Beach and Broward counties still need to tally overseas and military ballots as long as they are postmarked by Election Day and if they arrive by Nov. 12. According to the Miami Herald, if the final results end in a tie, “Florida law says that both candidates will draw lots to determine who wins.”
Jason Mariner won the district’s Republican nomination but faces an uphill battle, not just because the district is likely to vote Democrat, but because he reportedly did not properly comply with the state’s process to restore his civil rights after imprisonment. According to the Palm Beach Post, Mariner served about two years total in the Palm Beach County Jail in 2007 and 2012 on charges including “felony theft, burglary, cocaine possession, obstruction and violently resisting arrest.”
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The newspaper described Mariner as “open” with voters about his criminal background, vowing to be tough on crime. He told the outlet that completing the process won’t be “an issue.”
The winner of the Jan. 11, 2022, special election will have to seek reelection in an August primary and a November midterm election.
