The 2014 special election for

Florida's 19th congressional district Florida's 19th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Southwest Florida. It includes Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples and Marco Island. The district also includes Southwest Florida International Airport and Florida Gulf Coast ...

was held on June 24, 2014, following party primary elections which were held on April 22. The election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Trey Radel Henry Jude Radel III (born April 20, 1976) is an American radio personality, political commentator, author, actor, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Radel’s show airs on the Florida-based station WFSX-FM, a FOX New ...

from 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 ...

. Radel resigned on January 27, 2014, two months after he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Curt Clawson was elected as the new U.S. Representative.

Background

On October 29, 2013, Radel was arrested in the District of Columbia for purchasing of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

from an undercover officer. He did not inform House Republicans about the arrest. Less than a month later, Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of cocaine and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation. The charge "would have been a felony had it happened in his home state," according to Terry Miller, the Republican chairman in

Lee County, Florida Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an e ...

. Radel announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from Congress to undergo addiction rehabilitation and that he would be donating his salary to charity during his absence. Following his announcement, the

Republican Party of Florida The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Florida. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling the majority of Florida's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, supermajor ...

and Governor Rick Scott called on Radel to "resign immediately" and "focus his attention on rehabilitation and his family". Radel returned to Congress in January 2014, vowing to continue to serve. The

House Ethics Committee The Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the 112th Congress it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The House Et ...

began an investigation. On January 27, he decided to announce his resignation, effective that evening. Scott set April 22 as the date for the primary election, and June 24 for the general election.

Republican primary

The News-Press ''The News-Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper located in Fort Myers, Florida, serving primarily Lee County, as well as parts of Hendry, Collier, and Charlotte Counties. The paper publishes several editions of its "Local & State" (metro) s ...

'' described the Republican primary—the real contest in this heavily Republican district—as "a decidedly negative affair, with hyperbolic accusations and character assassination floated freely in television ads, mailers and news stories bombarding Southwest Florida voters." With "no difference on the issues among the three major candidates", Benacquisto, Clawson and Kreegel all attacked each other, with Benacquisto attacked for being "liberal" and an ex-Democrat; Clawson as an uncaring businessman who laid off workers and drove his company into bankruptcy; and Kreegel as a "win-at-all-costs conniver" who violated election laws. Dreikorn, was considered to have little chance and largely refrained from attacking his fellow candidates, calling for an end to the "political infighting". In April 2014, Benacquisto, Dreikorn and Kreegel attacked Clawson over his links to convicted child molester Glen Borst, who was a childhood friend of Clawson and whose last known address was a house in Utah that Clawson owned. Clawson dismissed the attacks as "politically driven... that just couldn't be further from the truth" and the mother of Borst's victim asked them to stop, calling the politicization of the issue "disturb ngand disgust ng. Benacquisto, Dreikorn and Kreegel hosted a press conference on April 9 to demand answers from Clawson, who made an impromptu and surprise appearance. After Clawson made his case, all four candidates pledged to stop attacking each other. Clawson won the primary with 38% of the vote.

Candidates

Declared

Lizbeth Benacquisto Lizbeth Benacquisto is a Republican politician from Florida who served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020. She was a candidate in the 2014 special election for Florida's 19th congressional district. History Benacquisto was born ...

, state senator * Curt Clawson, businessman * Michael Dreikorn, businessman * Paige Kreegel, former state representative and candidate for the seat in 2012

Declined

* Gary Aubuchon, former state representative and candidate for the seat in 2012 * Chauncey Goss, political consultant, candidate for the seat in 2012 and son of former U.S. Representative

Porter Goss Porter Johnston Goss (; born November 26, 1938) is an American politician and government official who served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1989 until 2004, when he became the last Director of Central Intellig ...

Connie Mack IV Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy (born August 12, 1967), popularly known as Connie Mack IV, is an American politician and lobbyist. He is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2005 to 2013. A Republican, he ran for the U.S. Senate in ...

, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012 * Gary Price, vice mayor of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Endorsements

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

* Curt Clawson (

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

), businessman * April Freeman ( Democratic), businesswoman and former Republican political activist * Ray Netherwood ( Libertarian) * Timothy Rossano (write-in)

References

{{2014 United States elections Florida 2014 19 Florida 2014 19 2014 19 Special Florida 19 Special United States House of Representatives 19 Special United States House of Representatives 2014 19