PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Former Miami Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez is on his way to Washington.
Gimenez won election to U.S. House in Florida’s 26th Congressional District, beating incumbent Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. The Democratic congresswoman has yet to concede despite Gimenez proclaiming victory.
She released a statement saying that she was “looking forward to a final result.”
Mucarsel-Powell unseated Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo on Jan. 3, 2019 and it was riding on Gimenez to win that seat back for his party.
Gimenez credited his handling of the coronavirus for the county and that he tried to appeal to the bipartisan spirit and not just to the Republican vote.
“I want to be bipartisan,” Gimenez said. “We need to work together. This country needs to start working together. The first thing we have to do is restore our economy and I think we are on our way to doing that.” Gimenez also spoke about protecting the environment. “We have a beautiful Congressional District 26, which also covers Monroe County,” he said.
He remains mayor for two weeks. So far, he said he had not received a call from Mucarsel-Powell.
She released a statement around 9:45 p.m. not conceding to Gimenez.
“This election has seen historic levels of turnout in Florida and across the nation, and we are still waiting for all the votes to be counted. What we are seeing now is our democratic process at work. I look forward to a final result when the votes have been counted and everyone’s voice has been heard.”
Florida’s 26th Congressional District runs from Kendall to Key West.
See below for live results as the ballots are counted on Election Night, Nov. 3:
Votes
%
Carlos Gimenez(R)
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell*(D)
(866 / 866)
The public battle between the two was partisan and contentious. Both spent millions on television attack ads that didn’t target political issues, per se, but took swings at each other’s family members. Their battle was tough and was expected to be unforgiving to the end. And, it was.