Incumbent Congressman Ross Spano defeated by Lakeland commissioner in GOP primary
Ross Spano, U.S. House candidate for Florida's 15th Congressional District, speaks during a rally at the Hillsborough County Republican Party office in Tampa on November 2, 2018. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. (AP) - Florida Lakeland City Commissioner Scott Franklin defeated U.S. Rep. Ross Spano in a Republican primary in Florida on Tuesday.
Franklin is a former Navy pilot and insurance business owner who challenged Spano because of ethics issues that have dogged him since being elected two years ago.
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Spano for alleged campaign finance violations. The House Ethics Committee was looking into allegations that Spano borrowed more than $100,000 from two friends and then loaned the money to his campaign. But it paused the review when the criminal investigation began.
Franklin said during the campaign that he doesn't disagree with Spano on policy, but his decision to run was based on questions about Spano's ethics.
"Politically, ideologically we're pretty close on the issues, but with the ethics and the investigations hanging over him it just really made the seat vulnerable, and that was my concern," Franklin said. "This has been a conservative, strong conservative seat, for decades and I was fearful of that seat being flipped in November."
District 15 sits east of Tampa in central Florida. Franklin's victory may give Republicans a better chance at winning in November. The district has traditionally voted Republican. Democrats were largely targeting Spano and hoped the ethics cloud hanging over him would give them a chance to flip the seat.
Spano is a lawyer who was elected to the state House in 2012 and served until he was elected to Congress in 2018.