special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to determine the member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Florida's 18th congressional district Florida's 18th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress, located in the Florida Heartland. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was created as a new district, which includes the inland counties of DeSoto ...

was held on August 29, 1989. Republican

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (; born Ileana Carmen Ros y Adato, July 15, 1952) is a politician and lobbyist from Miami, Florida, who represented from 1989 to 2019. By the end of her tenure, she was the most senior U.S. Representative from Florida. She ...

defeated Democrat Gerald Richman in the runoff vote, 53.14% to 46.85%. Ros-Lehtinen replaced

Claude Pepper Claude Denson Pepper (September 8, 1900 – May 30, 1989) was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. He represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951, and the Mi ...

, who died in office from stomach cancer. Changing demographics in Florida's 18th congressional district had moved the largely white district into a 40%

Cuban American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...

district. The election campaign followed this trend as the campaign was dominated by discussions of race after Republican National Chairman

Lee Atwater Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater (February 27, 1951 – March 29, 1991) was an American political consultant and strategist for the Republican Party. He was an adviser to US presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and chairman of the Repub ...

declared that the district should become the "

seat". Democrat Gerald Richman ran a campaign with the slogan "This is an American seat" in response to Atwater's comments, and both Ros-Lehtinen and Richman appealed to their respective racial bases in the general. Ros-Lehtinen won a competitive campaign to flip the seat, and became the first

to serve in Congress.

Background

United States Congressman

died in office from stomach cancer on May 30, 1989 after serving in the House for over a quarter century, opening up a special election to fill his seat. Pepper had previously served as a U.S. Senator from Florida as well and was seen as a lion of the U.S. Congress. Pepper's reputation and length of service had insulated him from the racial splits that existed in his district, and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' noted that he had been able to bridge the gap inside of the district. The district had moved from a largely white district into a 40%

district. Florida Governor

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...

announced the special election schedule the day after Pepper's burial.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

, State Senator * Carlos Perez, businessman and Republican Party activist *

John Stembridge John Stembridge is a Professor of Mathematics at University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985 under the direction of Richard P. Stanley. His dissertation was called ''Combinatorial Decompositions ...

, former Mayor of North Miami * David M. Fleischer, insurance broker and former plumber

Summary

Early coverage on the Republican primary named State Senator

as the favorite to win the Republican nomination.

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush ...

managed Ros-Lehtinen's campaign. After Pepper's death,

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. Political action committee, political committee that assists the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republi ...

chairman

declared that the seat should become a "Cuban American seat" and immediately caused controversy with the comment. Challengers other than Ros-Lehtinen included: Carlos Perez, a business owner who had been highlighted in Ronald Reagan's State of the Union address; David Fleischer, an insurance broker who decided to run after Atwater's comments; and John Stembridge, a furniture store owner who claimed that Pepper "was like an adopted father to me and I felt like he was personally grooming me to take his place". Ileana Ros-Lehtinen won the primary with more than 80% of the vote, winning every precinct and avoiding a runoff. "We're quite humbled and really flabbergasted," Ros-Lehtinen said at her surprise of winning the primary by such a wide margin.

Democratic primary

Declared

Rosario Kennedy Rosario Kennedy (born Rosario Arguelles y Freyre de Andrade in Cuba) is an American politician was the first Cuban American woman on the City of Miami Commission, former Vice Mayor of the City of Miami and candidate for Florida's 18th congressional ...

, Miami City Commissioner * Gerald Richman, Former President of the

Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated bar association for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States. Its duties include the regulation and discipline of attorneys. The Florida Bar is also responsible for the governi ...

* Jo Ann Pepper, Niece of

and federal probation officer * Jeff Allen, Law school graduate * Bernard Anscher, Retired industrialist and philanthropist * Marvin Dunn, Psychologist and unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of Miami * Sonny Wright

Withdrew

* Jack Gordon, State Senator * Raul Masvidal, banker and unsuccessful mayoral candidate

Summary

The Democratic primary was much more chaotic than the Republican one. After

announced that the district should become a "Cuban American seat", early Democratic favorite Jack Gordon dropped out after two days, stating that he refused to run a campaign that would have to be about "stopping the Cubans".

, a Miami City Commissioner, was handicapped as the initial favorite. In a first-round upset, Gerald Richman, the former President of the

, beat Kennedy by 146 votes. Both advanced to the runoff. The runoff campaign was dominated by controversial discussions of race. Richman repeatedly said, "This is an American seat" in reaction to Atwater's comments. Jo Ann Pepper, Marvin Dunn, and Sonny Wright, who split the African American neighborhoods in the district, all endorsed Kennedy. ''

The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami. Richman easily won the runoff over Kennedy, dominating in white and Jewish neighborhoods. The results split starkly among racial lines and after Richman's win, Kennedy refused to endorse him.

General election

The racial themes from both primaries continued throughout the general election. Richman's campaign came under continued fire for his "This is an American seat" slogan, while Ros-Lehtinen's campaign was criticized for a Spanish language brochure which emphasized Richman's Jewish religion. Richman spent more than $300,000 of his own money on his campaign. Ros-Lehtinen called Richman and his campaign bigoted and refused to appear at any debates or events with him. A poll by ''The Miami Herald'' found that 28 out of every 29 Cuban American voters supported Ros-Lehtinen while 24 of every 25 Jewish voters supported Richman, regardless of normal political ideology and leanings. National Republicans came to support Ros-Lehtinen, including President George H. W. Bush who hosted a fundraiser for her campaign and appeared jointly with her. Ros-Lehtinen won the seat with a six point margin, 53 to 47 percent. Voter turnout matched strongly with ethnic lines. According to exit polling, approximately 60 percent of the district's Hispanic voters turned out, while only 40 percent of the Anglos and 34 percent of the African Americans. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen became the first Latina and the first Cuban American to serve in Congress after this victory. After the election, the Anti-Defamation League called for a "healing process" for the communities of the district and described the election as a "dark moment". Both campaigns were censured by the Fair Campaigns Practices Committee, a watchdog group, for the racially tinged campaigns they ran.

References

{{1989 United States elections Florida 1989 18 Florida 1989 18 1989 18 Florida 18 United States House of Representatives 18 United States House of Representatives 1989 18