(Image source from: AP News)
Donna Shalala, former Clinton administration cabinet secretary, won the Democratic primary for Florida's 27th district on Tuesday in her first run for office, beating State Representative David Richardson.
She is vying to flip the seat being vacated by incumbent Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R), who is retiring. The area has gone blue in the past; it overwhelmingly chose Hillary Clinton in the presidential election in 2016 by 20 percentage points.
Shalala, since her time in the White House, has served as the president of the University of Miami and the head of the Clinton Foundation. She proclaimed her candidacy in March, saying that she never planned to run but Donald Trump's presidency propelled her to change her mind, she said in her March candidacy announcement video.
Thank you.
— Donna E. Shalala (@DonnaShalala) August 29, 2018
Thousands of believers, volunteers and supporters have helped shape this campaign from day 1—building a vision that demands a brighter future for Florida and our country.
Now it’s time to come together and flip this seat in November.
Join us: https://t.co/vWNiZJor5d
"I just woke one morning really pissed off at what was going on in Washington and thought, shoot, I could hit the ground running," she told HuffPost in June.
She will face off against a Cuban-American former journalist Maria Elvira Salazar. Shalala's platform touts her years of experience focused on immigration, health care, and gun violence.
"Few people have dedicated their careers to fighting for working families the way Donna Shalala has," said Emily's List president Stephanie Schriock in her endorsement of Shalala.
Elsewhere across Florida on Tuesday, Democrat Andrew Gillum became the state's first African-American nominee for governor, beating out favorite Gwen Graham.
Climate champion Rep. Carlos Curbelo, on the Republican side, defeated Souraya Faas, who is known to promote conspiracy theories.
By Sowmya Sangam
