The 2022 Florida's 20th congressional district special election was a special election to the United States House of Representatives. The seat had been vacant since incumbent Democratic representative Alcee Hastings died on April 6, 2021, of pancreatic cancer.
The special election was scheduled by Governor Ron DeSantis to be held on January 11, 2022. The primary elections were held on November 2, 2021. This left the seat vacant for 9 months, substantially longer than the delay for previous special elections.
Following a recount, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was declared the winner of the Democratic primary by five votes over Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness. Cherfilus-McCormick easily defeated Republican Jason Mariner in the January 11, 2022 special election, winning 79% of the popular vote.
Democratic primary Campaign Following Hastings' death, 11 Democratic candidates made the primary ballot to replace him.
Candidates Nominee Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, healthcare executive and candidate for this district in 2018 and 2020
Eliminated in primary Elvin Dowling, author Bobby DuBose, minority leader of the Florida House of Representatives Omari Hardy, state representative Dale Holness, Broward County commissioner and former mayor of Broward County Phil Jackson, retired U.S. Navy officer Emmanuel Morel, former federal labor investigator, candidate for Florida's 21st congressional district in 2014, and candidate for this district in 2020 Barbara Sharief, Broward County commissioner and former mayor of Broward County Imran Uddin Siddiqui, internist Priscilla Taylor, former state representative and candidate for mayor of West Palm Beach in 2019 Perry Thurston, state senator
Disqualified Natalia Allen, author Matt Boswell, businessman Krystal Jordan, counselor Marlon Onias, attorney Pradel Vilme, former Miami International Airport official
Declined Mack Bernard, Palm Beach County Commissioner Shevrin Jones, state senator Melissa McKinlay, Palm Beach County Commissioner and former mayor of Palm Beach County (endorsed Barbara Sharief) Bobby Powell, state senator (endorsed DuBose) Chris Smith, former state senator
Debates A two-part debate was held on September 15, 2021.
2022 Florida's 20th congressional district Democratic primary debates Date & time Host Moderator Link ParticipantsKey: Participant Absent Non-invitee Withdrawn Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Bobby DuBose Omari Hardy Dale Holness Barbara Sharief Priscilla Taylor Perry Thurston1 October 24, 2021 WPBF Todd McDermottVideo
Endorsements
Polling Graphical summary
Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error SheilaCherfilus-McCormick BobbyDuBose OmariHardy DaleHolness BarbaraSharief PriscillaTaylor PerryThurston Other UndecidedExpedition Strategies (D)Expedition Strategies (D)October 20–24, 2021500 (LV)± 4.4%15%6%5%14%13%2%10%2%32%Data for Progress (D)Data for Progress (D)July 6–7, 2021314 (LV)± 5.0%6%5%10%17%14%6%8%5%29%Public Policy Polling (D)Public Policy Polling (D)April 2021416 (LV)± 4.8%–7%–13%6%–11%12%50%–––11%7%–14%14%53%–––15%11%–15%–59%
Results Per Florida law, because the margin separating Cherfilus-McCormick and Holness was less than 0.5%, a recount was held. Ballots received by November 12 from overseas were accepted. The two candidates were two votes apart as some ballots that had been cast were still in dispute. On November 12, over a week after the primary, the Broward County canvassing board declared Cherfilus-McCormick the winner after a recount failed to change the vote totals. However, Holness did not immediately concede, pointing out that the board had rejected twelve overseas military ballots. He said he would confer with a lawyer to decide whether or not to challenge the results. The Palm Beach County canvassing board voted to certify the election results on the same day. State officials certified the results on November 16. Cherfilus-McCormick prevailed by five votes.
Cherfilus-McCormick won in Palm Beach County, receiving 30% of the vote. Meanwhile, Holness won in Broward County, where he serves as county commissioner, with 29% of the vote.
Aftermath Holness filed a lawsuit in Broward County Circuit Court on November 29 asking it to overturn the election results, alleging Cherfilus-McCormick to be "ineligible to hold office." The lawsuit asserts that Cherfilus-McCormick did not file proper financial paperwork and that her support for a universal basic income of $1,000 per month amounted to bribing voters. Holness claimed that voters had asked workers at polling places "where they collect the $1,000 from, so they expected to get $1,000." Election lawyer and former state representative Juan-Carlos Planas described the lawsuit as a "Hail Mary pass" and doubted it would be successful. Don James, an attorney for Holness, acknowledged that the challenge likely would not be resolved in time for the election. Mail-in ballots for the special election with Cherfilus-McCormick listed as the Democratic nominee were sent out beginning on December 3.
On December 6, Cherfilus-McCormick's attorneys filed a lengthy brief in response to the lawsuit that disputed its claims, calling it "a desperate attempt to overturn the will of the voters." In response to the allegation of bribery, the brief points out that promising monetary benefits to voters is common, comparing Cherfilus-McCormick's support for a universal basic income to "a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage," a slogan used by former president Herbert Hoover in his 1928 presidential campaign. The brief also claims that Holness's complaint was filed too late and is thus invalid, and asks the judge to dismiss it and order Holness to pay Cherfilus-McCormick's legal fees. Ultimately, Holness's challenge fell flat, as no judge took up the case.
Republican primary Campaign Two Republicans made the primary ballot, businessman Jason Mariner and Greg Musselwhite, who had been the Republican nominee for the seat in 2020. The two men cut different appearances on the campaign trail, with Mariner presenting himself in a clean-cut fashion while Musselwhite campaigned in a more folksy manner. A substantial part of Mariner's campaign was based around his turning his life around after previously being imprisoned twice on various felony charges. Musselwhite attacked Mariner for his prior felony convictions, claiming in a later-deleted Facebook post that voters had a choice between "the correctional officer or the inmate".
Mariner ran as an "America First conservative", promoting false claims that the results of the 2020 presidential election were illegitimate, as well as making statements in support of the rioters at the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack and the Confederate Flag, which he defended as a "battle flag that was later co-opted by racist groups".
Candidates
Nominee Jason Mariner, businessman
Eliminated in primary Gregory "Greg" Musselwhite, welding inspector and nominee for this district in 2020
Disqualified Vic DeGrammont, realtor Roland Florez Lateresa Jones, perennial candidate Bernard Sansaricq, former president of the Haiti Senate
Endorsements
Results
Independent and third-party candidates
Libertarian Party
Declared Mike ter Maat, economist and Hallandale Beach police officer
Independents
Declared Jim Flynn, real estate broker Leonard Serratore, Palm Beach International Airport official
Disqualified Robert Ornelas, perennial candidate
General election
Predictions SourceRankingAs of The Cook Political Report October 15, 2021 Inside Elections January 10, 2022 Sabato's Crystal Ball May 20, 2021
Endorsements Endorsements in bold were made after the primary elections.
Results As expected by election prognosticators, Cherfilus-McCormick won the special election by a landslide, winning 79% of the popular vote. In spite of this, Mariner refused to concede, threatening to file a lawsuit to dispute the results.
CountySheila Cherfilus-McCormickDemocraticJason MarinerRepublicanMike ter MaatLibertarianVarious candidatesOther partiesMarginTotalvotes#%#%#%#%#%Broward 32,86782.746,22815.682520.633750.9426,63967.0639,722Palm Beach 11,84070.084,73828.041430.851741.037,10242.0416,895 Totals44,70778.9610,96619.373950.705490.9733,74159.5956,617
See also 2022 United States House of Representatives elections 2022 United States elections 117th United States Congress List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
Notes
Partisan clients
References
External links Official campaign websites Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D) Jason Mariner (R) Mike ter Maat (L)