Floridas Yoho Wins Republican Primary Aiding Tea Party
U.S. Representative Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican whos aligned with the small-government Tea Party movement and opposed John Boehners re-election as House speaker, defeated a challenger in a primary today.
With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Yoho had 78 percent of the vote compared with 22 percent for lawyer Jake Rush, according to the Associated Press.
Yoho, seeking a second term, was among 12 Republicans who declined to back Boehner, an Ohio Republican, for another term as speaker in 2013. All 10 who sought re-election are favored to win new terms in the Nov. 4 general election; two ran for the Senate and lost. The bloc of House Republicans opposed to Boehner likely will be bigger after the election.
Yoho, 59, said earlier this month that opposing Boehner hasnt hampered his effectiveness in representing the 3rd District, noting House passage of a bill he sponsored and his service as the only Floridian on the Agriculture Committee.
Even with the challenge I did to leadership, its made our conference better because like-minded Republicans have changed the dynamics on issues including border security, Yoho said at a candidate forum Aug. 4 at Florida Gateway College in Lake City.
Yoho sided with Republican leaders and bucked small-government outside groups in voting last December for a budget deal crafted by Republican Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington.
Yohos supporters include the Tea Party Express and FreedomWorks, a Washington-based group that also advocates for a limited federal government.
Rush, a political unknown, received outside help from a super-political action committee funded by his father and his aunt. Super-PACs may raise funds in unlimited amounts to independently aid or oppose candidates.
Yoho, a veterinarian, was a political neophyte in 2012 when he toppled 12-term Representative Cliff Stearns in the Republican primary. The district, which takes in most of Gainesville and some territory between Tallahassee and Jacksonville, is safely Republican in the Nov. 4 general election, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, a Washington group that rates political races.
In southern Florida, Republicans are seeking to reclaim two politically competitive districts Democrats wrested from them in the 2012 election.
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Floridas Yoho Wins Republican Primary Aiding Tea Party