Curbelo Leads In Miami Congressional Race
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Miami-Dade School Board member Carlos Curbelo was the winner of a five-way GOP primary that included former U.S. Rep. David Rivera.
With 167 of 192 precincts reporting, Curbelo has 52-percent of the vote in Congressional District 26. The next closest candidate is former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez with 19-percent of the vote.
The district covers a swath from Westchester to Key West.
Curbelo will now face U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia, D-Fla. in November.
Scandal-plagued former Congressman David Rivera, who was running for his old seat, came in fourth.
Rivera took to Twitter early in the evening to congratulate Curbelo.
"Congratulations to Carlos Curbelo on his victory tonight in Florida congressional district 26," Rivera posted on Twitter. "Now that the primary is over, it is time for all Republicans to unite behind Carlos and defeat Joe Garcia in November."
In another contested GOP primary, Republican Joe Kaufman defeated Juan Garcia and will now get to challenge U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in a heavily Democratic South Florida district. Wasserman Schultz is also chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.
With 45 of 51 precincts reporting Kaufman has 50.90-percent of the vote while Juan Garcia has 49.10-percent.
The left-leaning Congressional District 23, which Wasserman Schultz has won in recent general elections by double-digit percentage margins, stretches from Interstate 595 in Broward County south to Miami Beach.
On the Democratic side, incumbent Frederica Wilson of Miami Gardens appeared to handily defeat Michael Etienne, the North Miami city clerk.
With 183 of 213 precincts reporting, Wilson has nearly 80-percent of the vote over Etienne's 20-percent in the race for Congressional District 24.
With Tuesday's primary election win, she's practically assured reelection.
She faces little-known candidates Dufirstson Julio Neree, a Republican, and Luis E. Fernandez, who is running without political-party affiliation, in November.
Congressional District 24 district extends from Miramar to Brickell, including Opa-locka, Miami Shores and Little Haiti.
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