Rep. Bill Posey to exit Congress; backs former Florida state lawmaker Mike Haridopolos

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - As the qualifying period ended Friday for this year’s congressional elections, U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., said he would not seek another term and backed former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos as a successor.

Posey, a former state lawmaker, was first elected to Congress in 2008 and represents District 8 in Brevard and Indian River counties. Haridopolos, a Republican who served as Senate president from 2010 to 2012, qualified to run for the congressional seat before Friday’s noon deadline.

After the deadline, Posey said in an online post that he would end his re-election campaign because of "circumstances beyond my control."

"It has been the greatest honor of Katie’s and my life to represent you in Congress," Posey wrote, referring to his wife. "And polls suggest that because of YOUR support, I could remain in the job forever, and we were looking forward to another spirited campaign for a final term in office."

Posey went on to endorse Haridopolos, who had chaired Posey’s finance committee. Two other Republicans and two Democrats have qualified to run for the seat.

"There are many people qualified to replace me," Posey said in the statement. "Unfortunately, until Mike Haridopolos committed to run, the other declared candidates were not among them."

The Posey announcement was the only major surprise Friday, as qualifying ended with all but one congressional seat contested. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., was unopposed in the heavily Democratic District 20 in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Rapper Luther Campbell opened a campaign committee on Tuesday for a possible bid in District 20 and said in an online post that he would make an announcement at 11 a.m. Friday. But there was no announcement.

Primary elections will be held Aug. 20, with the general election on Nov. 5.

Republicans hold 20 of the state’s 28 congressional seats, and Democrats this month began using billboards and digital ads to attract candidates in every congressional and legislative district. They met the goal in congressional races, with a qualifying period for legislative candidates from June 10 to June 14.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said that 28 people had filled out "run for office" forms on the party website on the day the billboards went up.

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"That's what democracy is about, giving people the choice and making sure that they've got candidates to choose from and be able to figure out where we are in Florida and where we are as a nation," Fried told reporters at the Capitol.

Numerous U.S. House members will face primary challengers. Incumbent Republicans Matt Gaetz, Neal Dunn, Kat Cammack, John Rutherford, Michael Waltz, Cory Mills, Daniel Webster, Gus Bilirakis, Laurel Lee, Vern Buchanan, Brian Mast, Mario Diaz-Balart, and Maria Elvira Salazar, and Democrats Maxwell Alejandro Frost and Debbie Wasserman Schultz will have primary contests.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott also has two primary challengers before he is expected to take on the winner of a crowded Democratic field that includes former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, former Congressman Alan Grayson, former state House member Brian Rush, and businessman Stanley Campbell.

Aubrey Jewett, assistant director of the University of Central Florida’s School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, said this week he thinks there have been more primary challenges this year and in the past few election cycles "as firebrands in the party don't want to wait or think they can do better, or think the incumbents are not representing party values effectively enough."

Pointing to gerrymandering of congressional districts, Jewett said about 90 percent of incumbents retain their seats after winning their first re-election campaigns.

"If I was placing a political sports bet with the Seminole Tribe on my phone app from my living room, if they took such action like they do in England, I would be on all the incumbents to win," Jewett said.

This year, freshman U.S. House members drew numerous opponents. Frost faces two Democratic primary challengers in the Orlando area’s District 10, and two Republicans are also running for the seat.

Six Republicans are vying to take on freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in District 23 in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Meanwhile, five Democrats are seeking to unseat freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in Pinellas County’s District 13.

Lee, another freshman Republican, has drawn two primary opponents in District 15 in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Polk counties. The opposition wasn’t surprising after former President Donald Trump targeted the district. Lee, a former Florida Secretary of State, initially endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump before DeSantis dropped out of this year’s presidential race.

Among the final candidates to qualify in person Friday at the state Division of Elections office was Naples Republican Johnny Fratto, who said he waited until the last minute on the advice of his campaign manager.

"I listened to him. He’s the expert. Now he’s proven not to be the expert," Fratto joked as he expressed relief upon being advised his paperwork was completed with about 15 minutes left in the qualifying period.

Fratto is one of two Republicans challenging U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., in District 27 in Miami-Dade and Collier counties.