Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) took 56.8 percent of the vote in the Florida Democratic primary on Tuesday, pushing back a challenge from progressive law professor Tim Canova, who earned 43.2 percent.
This was the first time Wasserman Schultz faced a primary opponent in her Fort Lauderdale district, which leans heavily Democratic. Her win means that she will likely win reelection to Congress for a seventh term.
After a tumultuous few months, the congresswoman celebrated her sound victory over Canova, calling it “incredibly sweet and satisfying,” according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Wasserman-Schultz was forced to resign as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in July after leaked DNC emails showed senior party staffers mocking the campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during the presidential primary. Sanders endorsed Canova, who spent months telling Florida voters that Wasserman Schultz was a tool of the D.C. establishment.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, Wasserman Schultz said at her victory speech that Canova, who raised around $3.3. million, much of it from out of state, “spent a tremendous amount of time attacking me.” Her win, she said, “sent a pretty clear message.”
Canova did not make the standard phone call to the winner conceding the race, according to the newspaper, instead taking a final hit at Wasserman Schultz.
“I’ll concede that Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a corporate stooge,” he told reporters.
Canova told a crowd of his supporters in Pembroke Pines that his campaign was a step towards wresting control of the country from “the corporate oligarchy.”
