A number of important primaries are being held Tuesday for congressional seats in South Florida.
In District 20, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is facing primary competition in the seat she won in a special election earlier this year.
The seat had previously been held by Democratic Florida U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died in April 2021 of pancreatic cancer.
Cherfilus-McCormick, a former health care CEO, defeated Republican Jason Mariner in the district, which is firmly Democratic.
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DECISION 2022
Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nearly 5-1 ratio in the district, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, who lost to Cherfilus-McCormick by five votes in last year's Democratic primary, is once again taking her on in Tuesday's primary.
Holness is a Broward County commissioner and former City of Lauderhill commissioner.
The race took on a new dimension last month when Cherfilus-McCormick sued Holness, claiming he defamed her and accused her of embezzlement to win the seat.
A third candidate, state Rep. Anika Omphroy, is also running for the District 20 seat.
In District 27, State Sen. Annette Taddeo, who was Charlie Crist’s lieutenant governor running mate in 2014, and Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell are among three Democratic candidates hoping to challenge Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.
Salazar has represented Florida's 27th Congressional District since January 2021 after defeating incumbent Donna Shalala, a Democrat.
Shalala beat Salazar for the same position in in 2018, taking the spot that Ileana Ros-Lehtinen had held for three decades.
District 27 stretches from North Bay Village south to Cutler Bay and west into Kendall. It is a densely populated area, with a highly diverse electorate.
Russell dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to run in the race. Taddeo dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor.
The third candidate joining them is Angel Montalvo.
In District 23, more than a dozen candidates are running for the South Florida seat left open by Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch’s decision to retire.
The most prominent name among Democrats is Jared Moskowitz, the former state representative who helped pass gun legislation after the Parkland shootings, and who served as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency management director.
Among the Democrats competing for the seat are Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Ben Sorensen and Hava Holzhauer, a former assistant state attorney and regional director for the Anti-Defamation League.
Also on the ballot for Democrats are Allen Ellison, Michaelangelo Hamilton, and W. Michael Trout.
The seat is firmly Democratic but there are seven candidates running on the Republican side.
They include Joe Budd, Darlene Cerezo Swaffar, Steve Chess, Christy McLaughlin, Myles Perrone, James Pruden and Ira Weinstein.
