PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Charlie Crist left a vacant seat in Congress for the newly drawn lines of Florida District 13, and Pinellas County Republican candidate Anna Paulina Luna will be filling it.
Luna beat Democrat candidate Eric Lynn during Tuesday's general election. At the time of publication, Luna had a total of 177,779 votes and Lynn 149,044 votes.
Luna is an air force veteran and said she’s one of the top five Hispanic conservative activists in the country. She believes not being a politician makes her the best fit to serve the people.
"I think I’m your average person who saw something wrong and stepped up to the plate. I think part of the problem is that there are a lot of people in DC who are simply out of touch with our communities," said Luna.
Leading up to the election, both candidates said their top platforms were helping veterans and battling inflation.
"I can see a pot roast has gone up from $13 to $29. That’s not sustainable for people. I’m talking about this from someone who has worked very hard to be where I’m at. I grew up in the welfare system and know the price of a buck and I’m not going to D.C. to fight for special interest. I’m fighting for the people here in the county," said Luna.
Luna ran against Crist two years ago unsuccessfully, at a time when the district favored Democrats.
However, redistricting has shifted district boundaries northward, giving the district a red lean, according to ABC Action News political analyst Susan MacManus.
“It became more republican and more winnable for a republican, but again, there are a lot of no-party affiliations and independents. Right now, what we are starting to see evolve is that more and more of the party’s strategists and saying we better look at this no-party affiliation electorate,” said MacManus.
