DeSantis Schedules Special US House Election for January
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday scheduled a special election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) for Jan. 11, 2022.
“I am going to be doing an executive order to set the special election for Congressional District 20, Alcee Hastings’ seat,” DeSantis said. “We’re going to do the primary for November 2, the general election for January 11.”
“I know someone who ran for it before. There’s a lot that goes into it. I know there’ll be a lot of folks who want to run for it. So hopefully that gives them enough time to be able to get on the ballot and do what they need to do to be competitive,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis sets election for Hastingsâ seat in 2022, leaving it open for 9 months
Hastingsâ seat will be vacant for more than nine months. The void is about four months longer than the last U.S. House seat that became vacant in Florida following the death of a sitting member of Congress.
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By Alex Daugherty
Updated May 5
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week announced that the special election to replace Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died last month, will take place in January 2022.
Democrats urged DeSantis to fill the seat quickly â arguing that leaving a majority Black and heavily Democratic seat in Broward and Palm Beach counties unoccupied for months deprives
Hastings, who represented a majority Black district in South Florida for nearly three decades, died early this month after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Florida law gives DeSantis broad authority to set a date for the special election to replace him, but he has so far remained silent on when voters can expect to choose their next representative.
Given Democrats’ narrow House majority, the vacancy in Florida’s 20th Congressional District stands to have a potentially significant impact on the party’s ability to move its agenda forward in Congress, and some fear that DeSantis could seek to complicate Democrats’ legislative efforts by leaving the seat vacant for months.
DeSantis to play key role in filling Hastingsâ seat
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ultimately has the power to determine when the special election to replace Hastings will happen. Leaving a deep blue seat unfilled for months will help Republicans in Washington.
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U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., listens to testimony at a bipartisan delegation meeting on the heroin crisis in Florida in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2016. [ Miami Herald ]
By Alex Daugherty
Updated 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON â The death of Congressman Alcee Hastings on Tuesday will touch off a competitive Democratic primary for a seat in a majority Black district that hasnât been open since 1992.
Hastings congressional seat draws Democratic interest, but DeSantis will play an important role msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.