POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Florida’s newest Congressional district has drawn incredible interest on both sides of the political aisle.
The state's influence on Capitol Hill is expanding with the state picking up a congressional seat due to population growth.
“Congressional District 15 is the new seat for Florida. We gained one seat in Congress as a consequence of our population growth last decade. This is a brand-new district that basically was carved out of a lot of other previous districts,” said ABC Action News Political Analyst Dr. Susan McManus.
Created during the once-a-decade redistricting process, Florida's 15th Congressional District covers northeast Hillsborough, southeast Pasco and a small portion of Polk County.
“This has a national impact because it’s regarded as one of the most competitive races in the state, and most importantly, it’s along the I-4 corridor, which is still the most important part of Florida,” said McManus.
The congressional seat with no incumbent has attracted five Republican and five Democratic primary challengers.
The Republican candidates include retired Navy Commander Demetries Grimes, former Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Navy veteran Kevin “Mac” McGovern, state Sen. Kelli Stargel, and state Rep. Jackie Toledo.
Democrats running include political consultant Gavin Brown, former TV anchor Alan Cohn, video producer Eddie Geller, Army veteran Cesar Ramirez, and aerospace contractor Bill VanHorn.
“Clear examples of what the two parties stand for, all you have to do is look at the candidates in these primaries. The Republicans are on one side, and the Democrats are on the other on just about every issue,” said McManus.
For Republican candidates, most of their platforms are focused on border security and inflation.
“That needs to improve because everything is getting out of hand cost-wise. And we’re in business too, and we notice it big time, and it’s not fair to the American people,” said Lakeland voter Arthur Walters.
Democratic candidates want to tackle taxes and improve Florida's schools.
“I think we just need to be consistent. Education is important, I think. There are several issues that I'm not sure that if it necessarily needs to be changed, but I just want to do my civic duty,” said Lakeland voter John Dumont.
