1989 Florida's 18th congressional district special election
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Florida's 18th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Florida |
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 Government |
A
Changing demographics in Florida's 18th congressional district had moved the largely white district into a 40%
Background
United States Congressman
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- State Senator[3]
- Carlos Perez, businessman and Republican Party activist[3]
- North Miami[5]
- David M. Fleischer, insurance broker and former plumber[5]
Summary
Early coverage on the Republican primary named State Senator Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as the favorite to win the Republican nomination.[5] Jeb Bush managed Ros-Lehtinen's campaign.[6] After Pepper's death, Republican National Committee chairman Lee Atwater declared that the seat should become a "Cuban American seat" and immediately caused controversy with the comment.[5] Challengers other than Ros-Lehtinen included: Carlos Perez, a business owner who had been highlighted in Ronald Reagan's State of the Union address; David Fleischer, an insurance broker who decided to run after Atwater's comments; and John Stembridge, a furniture store owner who claimed that Pepper "was like an adopted father to me and I felt like he was personally grooming me to take his place".[5]
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen won the primary with more than 80% of the vote, winning every precinct and avoiding a runoff.[2] "We're quite humbled and really flabbergasted," Ros-Lehtinen said at her surprise of winning the primary by such a wide margin.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | 16,873 | 82.80 | |
| Republican | Carlos Perez | 2,251 | 11.05 | |
| Republican | David Fleischer | 691 | 3.39 | |
| Republican | John Stembridge | 563 | 2.76 | |
| Total votes | 20,578 | 100 | ||
Democratic primary
Declared
- Rosario Kennedy, Miami City Commissioner[5]
- Gerald Richman, Former President of the Florida Bar[5]
- Jo Ann Pepper, Niece of Claude Pepper and federal probation officer[5]
- Jeff Allen, Law school graduate[5]
- Bernard Anscher, Retired industrialist and philanthropist[5]
- Marvin Dunn, Psychologist and unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Miami[5]
- Sonny Wright[5]
Withdrew
Summary
The Democratic primary was much more chaotic than the Republican one.
The runoff campaign was dominated by controversial discussions of race.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gerald Richman | 5,794 | 27.98 | |
| Democratic | Rosario Kennedy | 5,635 | 27.21 | |
| Democratic | Jo Ann Pepper | 5,071 | 24.49 | |
| Democratic | Marvin Dunn | 1,713 | 8.27 | |
| Democratic | Sonny Wright | 1,516 | 7.32 | |
| Democratic | Bernard "Bernie" Anscher | 703 | 3.39 | |
| Democratic | John Paul Rosser | 280 | 1.35 | |
| Total votes | 21,868 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gerald Richman | 14,411 | 60.97 | |
| Democratic | Rosario Kennedy | 9,226 | 39.03 | |
| Total votes | 23,640 | 100 | ||
General election
The racial themes from both primaries continued throughout the general election.[11] Richman's campaign came under continued fire for his "This is an American seat" slogan, while Ros-Lehtinen's campaign was criticized for a Spanish language brochure which emphasized Richman's Jewish religion.[11][3] Richman spent more than $300,000 of his own money on his campaign.[11] Ros-Lehtinen called Richman and his campaign bigoted and refused to appear at any debates or events with him.[12] A poll by The Miami Herald found that 28 out of every 29 Cuban American voters supported Ros-Lehtinen while 24 of every 25 Jewish voters supported Richman, regardless of normal political ideology and leanings.[3] National Republicans came to support Ros-Lehtinen, including President George H. W. Bush who hosted a fundraiser for her campaign and appeared jointly with her.[11]
Ros-Lehtinen won the seat with a six point margin, 53 to 47 percent. Voter turnout matched strongly with ethnic lines.[11] According to exit polling, approximately 60 percent of the district's Hispanic voters turned out, while only 40 percent of the Anglos and 34 percent of the African Americans did so.[11] Ileana Ros-Lehtinen became the first Latina and the first Cuban American to serve in Congress after this victory.[11] After the election, the Anti-Defamation League called for a "healing process" for the communities of the district and described the election as a "dark moment".[13] Both campaigns were censured by the Fair Campaigns Practices Committee, a watchdog group, for the racially tinged campaigns they ran.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | 49,638 | 53.14% | +53.14% | |
| Democratic | Gerald Richman | 43,759 | 46.85% | -53.14% | |
| Total votes | 93,397 | 100.0% | |||
| Majority | 5,874 | 6.29% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | Swing | 53.14% | |||
References
- ^ Thomas, Reginald (May 31, 1989). "Claude Pepper, Fiery Fighter For Elderly Rights, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Florida Primary Won By a Cuban-American". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 2, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Schmalz, Jeffrey (August 29, 1989). "Ethnic Split Fuels Miami Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ "Cuban-American expected to replace Pepper" (PDF). The Palm Beach Post. Associated Press. June 7, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Bell, Maya (July 9, 1989). "Who can fill Claude Pepper's seat?" (PDF). The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Adams, David; Simon, Stephanie (June 25, 2012). "Jeb Bush: Party elder statesman or 2016 candidate?". Reuters. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Yanez, Luisa (August 3, 1989). "Quayle Brings Support" (PDF). South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "Lawyer Easily Wins Nomination to Replace Pepper in the House". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 16, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "House Race Seems Divisive" (PDF). Philadelphia Daily News. Associated Press. August 16, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cuban-born Demo Loses her bid for Pepper's seat" (PDF). The Arizona Daily Star. Associated Press. August 16, 1989. Retrieved May 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved March 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved March 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Knight Ridder Newspapers (August 31, 1989). "Ros-Letinen takes seat" (PDF). Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved May 18, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
