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Daniel Webster Opts to Run in Redrawn District

Webster has not announced whether he will run for Congress again in another Florida district. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Webster has not announced whether he will run for Congress again in another Florida district. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., said Monday he will run in the state’s new 11th District, two months after a court imposed a new map  that morphed the Orlando-area district he now represents in the favor of Democrats.  

In an email to the Tampa Bay Times , Webster said he was running for another term because more was to be done to “reform the process and fix what is broken in Washington.”  “For the past five years, I have fought to change the power based, staff-driven congressional process into one based upon principles,” he told the paper. Touting his own conservative credentials, he added, “Last year, I ran for speaker against John Boehner and the powerful Washington establishment because I believe that our country deserves a legislative process that works.”  

The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Richard Nugent, a Republican who announced his retirement last November. Nugent is backing his former chief of staff, Justin Grabelle, to be his replacement.

“Our country needs strong, conservative leaders who are willing to take a stand. Unfortunately, Washington has a tendency to change people. Career politicians seem to be more concerned with Washington’s inner workings than getting results for the people they represent,” Grabelle said in a statement. “Quite frankly, our community doesn’t care about Washington’s petty political games.”

The 11th District — which incorporated part of Webster’s current one — is rated Safe Republican by the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report /Roll Call.  

With Webster’s announcement, Rep. Gwen Graham — the first-term Democrat from a Panhandle district that became even more challenging than it was for Democrats — is the only lawmaker whose future plans remain murky following the approval of the new map.


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