Republican Anna Paulina Luna (left) is defending her CD-13 seat against Democrat Whitney Fox. Credit: Photos from the Luna and Fox campaigns

After emerging from a strong primary field, Democrat Whitney Fox could not defeat incumbent Republican Anna Paulina Luna for Pinellas County’s District 13 U.S. congressional seat.

As of 7:46 p.m, the Associated Press called the race for Luna, with 54.9% of the vote, and 93% of the ballots counted.

Leading up to Election Day, the race for the Republican-leaning CD13 was relatively close, with a St. Pete Polls survey showing the two candidates deadlocked at 46% each.

This was Luna’s third time running as the Republican nominee in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, and her first reelection campaign since winning the seat by more than 8 percentage points in 2022.

In many ways, the Trump-endorsed, former PragerU personality had a busy first term, voting against FEMA funding just before her district was leveled by two hurricanes, unsuccessfully trying to give Trump a Congressional Gold Medal, censuring California Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, declining to say how she’ll vote on Florida’s abortion ballot referendum, and supporting the failed impeachment of President Joe Biden.

Fox, who was most recently a communications director for the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, focused her campaign on Luna’s extremism, but also on local issues like affordable housing, the state’s ongoing property insurance crisis, and storm recovery.

Florida’s 13th congressional district covers most of Pinellas County, including Largo, Clearwater, and Palm Harbor.

Other winners in the U.S. congressional race include Kathy Castor (District 14), Laurel Lee (District 15) and Gus Bilirakis (District 12).

This is a developing post.

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This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2024.