Rep. Vern Buchanan defeats state Rep. Margaret Good, winning eighth term in Washington
Rep. Vern Buchanan defeated State Rep. Margaret Good in the race to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, earned 266,031 votes, or 55.6 percent of the vote in the district that includes all of Manatee County and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties. Good earned about 212,500 votes or 44.4 percent.
“It’s a tremendous victory. I’m really humbled by it,” Buchanan said Tuesday evening. “You never know with these races, so to win by over 53,000 votes is unbelievable.”
Buchanan defeated Good in each of the district’s three counties, according to unofficial election results data. In 2018, Buchanan defeated his Democrat opponent David Shapiro by about 10 points, a slimmer margin than his 11-point victory over Good.
“I knew it was gonna be a tough race, but I’m just honored to be the people’s voice,” Buchanan added.
Buchanan campaigned on a platform of accomplishment and bipartisanship, pointing to a list of 22 bills that have been signed into law since he was first elected in 2006. In a recent interview, he said recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, supporting the district’s veterans and boosting small businesses would be his priorities in Washington, D.C.
Good, who won her first stint as an elected official when she defeated Buchanan’s son in a 2018 special election, also pitched herself as a bipartisan candidate. If she was elected, she said putting together a proper response to the COVID-19 response would be her main concern.
“I’m very proud of the campaign we ran and grateful for the thousands of volunteers and supporters who stood up for our values,” Good said in a statement released Tuesday night. “It has been an honor to be the Democratic nominee for this district, and I am grateful for all of the support.”
Both candidates clashed in a recent debate, with Good arguing that Buchanan had “turned his back on the community,” and Buchanan claiming that Good hadn’t seen any success during her tenure in Florida Legislature.
Buchanan narrowly outraised Good throughout the cycle, bringing in $3.3 million to Good’s $3.1 million, according to the Federal Elections Commission.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 9:32 PM.
