Florida's 26th Congressional District election, 2016

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Florida's 26th Congressional District

General Election Date November 8, 2016

Primary Date August 30, 2016

November 8 Election Winner: Carlos Curbelo

Incumbent prior to election: Carlos Curbelo

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Toss-up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Toss-up Rothenberg & Gonzales: Pure Toss-up

Florida U.S. House Elections District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27

2016 U.S. Senate Elections

2016 U.S. House Elections

The 26th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.

Florida's 26th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Incumbent Carlos Curbelo (R) won re-election to his second term in 2016. He defeated Joe Garcia (D) and Jose Peixoto (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Garcia defeated Annette Taddeo to win the Democratic primary on August 30, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

Florida's 26th Congressional District was one of the most competitive districts in the country. It has swapped party hands since redistricting following the 2010 census.

The race featured a rematch between incumbent Carlos Curbelo (R) and former Rep. Joe Garcia. Curbelo ousted Garcia from the seat in 2014.

Heading into the election, polling showed a very close race. However, incumbent Curbelo held a significant fundraising advantage.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 24, 2016	August 30, 2016	November 8, 2016

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Florida utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Carlos Curbelo (R), who was first elected in 2014.

Florida's 26th Congressional District was created as a result of the 2010 Census. The district includes Monroe County and a portion of Miami-Dade County in the southern tip of Florida, including the Florida Keys.

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Florida District 26 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Carlos Curbelo Incumbent	53%	148,547
	Democratic	Joe Garcia	41.2%	115,493
	Independent	Jose Peixoto	5.9%	16,502
Total Votes				280,542
Source: Florida Division of Elections

Primary election

U.S. House, Florida District 26 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joe Garcia	51.3%	14,834
Annette Taddeo	48.7%	14,108
Total Votes		28,942
Source: Florida Division of Elections

Candidates

General election candidates:

Carlos Curbelo a
Joe Garcia
Jose Peixoto

Primary candidates:

Democratic

Joe Garcia - Former U.S. Representative a
Annette Taddeo

Republican

Carlos Curbelo - Incumbent a

Third Party/Other

Jose Peixoto (Independent)

Race background

Incumbent Carlos Curbelo was a member of the NRCC's Patriot Program. The program is designed to help raise money and assist vulnerable incumbents seeking re-election.

Annette Taddeo was one of the initial members of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red to Blue Program. The program "highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support."

Russian hacking of the DCCC

Annette Taddeo (D) was one of nearly a dozen Democratic House candidates who were targeted after the DCCC was hacked in 2016. Taddeo was ultimately defeated in the Democratic primary by Joe Garcia. Taddeo said of the hacking, "It was like I was standing out there naked. I just can’t describe it any other way. Our entire internal strategy plan was made public, and suddenly all this material was out there and could be used against me."

Presidential preference

Carlos Curbelo

See also: Republicans and their declared positions on Donald Trump

Curbelo is part of a group of Republican members of Congress who will not endorse or vote for Donald Trump. On February 29, 2016, "Curbelo said he would seek a third-party candidate to support or back a write-in candidate rather than Mr. Trump. On Twitter, Mr. Curbelo said Mr. Trump reminds him most of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez," according to The Wall Street Journal. Curbelo said, "The party may blow up. You’re going to lose the four in 10 who say they’ll never vote for him. It would be tough to support at the national level a Republican Party that has Donald Trump as its leader. This man does things and says things that I teach my six- and three-year-olds not to say. I could never look them in the eye and tell them that I support someone so crass and insulting and offensive to lead the greatest nation in the world."

Endorsements

Annette Taddeo

• EMILY's List - "Annette Taddeo is a strong progressive with a record of standing up for Florida’s women and families. Annette worked minimum wage jobs to help put herself through college, and she personally understands the economic difficulties that many Floridians deal with every day."

• Reps. Alcee Hastings and Lois Frankel

• The AFL-CIO - "Fighting for working families in Florida is at the heart of my campaign. It’s an honor to have the backing of the AFL-CIO and its members in South Florida, and I look forward to working with them to fight for South Florida working families."

Polls

Florida's 26th District - Carlos Curbelo vs. Joe Garcia
Poll	Carlos Curbelo	Joe Garcia	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Expedition Strategies September 9-14, 2016	46%	47%	+/-4.8	412
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Media

Carlos Curbelo

Support

"Nuestra Voz" - Curbelo campaign ad, released September 2016

Opposition

"REPRESENT" - DCCC ad opposing Curbelo, released September 2016

"CLEAR" - DCCC ad opposing Curbelo, released September 2016

"Signs" - House Majority PAC ad opposing Curbelo, released October 2016

Joe Garcia

Support

"Leadership" - Garcia campiagn ad, released October 2016

Opposition

"Embarrassed You" - NRCC ad opposing Garcia, released September 2016

"Dangerous" - NRCC ad opposing Garcia, released October 2016

Annette Taddeo

"The Reason" - Taddeo's first ad, released July 2016

"Counting" - Taddeo's second ad, released August 2016

Campaign themes

Carlos Curbelo

“	Economy: The new, fast-paced economy is leaving too many people behind. Young people cannot find work after college. Millions of Americans are employed part-time despite needing full-time work to sustain their families, and wages are stagnant across the board. Unfortunately our economy is the victim of self-inflicted wounds like the 30 hour work week under Obamacare, increased regulation, and an unsustainable fiscal policy which relies on deficit spending to fund the government. Every day, it seems like there is less incentive for people to work in our country. This must change. Healthcare: My neighbors in District 26 want a quality healthcare system at an affordable cost. The President’s Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has increased the cost of healthcare for millions of Americans and is threatening our economic recovery. A law that gives the IRS an outsized role in our healthcare system, considers 30 hours a full work week, and cuts funding for Medicare is at best, deeply flawed. Taxes: We must reform our tax system. We need fewer and lower marginal tax rates for all Americans and a reduced corporate tax rate which will lead to more job creation and a dynamic economic recovery. We should close all special interest loopholes and increase the child tax credit for working families raising dependent children. I also support expanding the successful earned income tax credit for those earning low wages. Entitlement Reform: We must keep the promise of Social Security to current beneficiaries and begin reforming the program, so that it can serve younger generations of Americans. Beginning in 2021, program costs are projected to exceed income, shrinking the trust funds. This threatens the future of Social Security and the quality of life of future retirees. As Baby Boomers enroll in Medicare, it too is facing serious challenges. The program’s hospital insurance trust fund will be insolvent in 2026. That’s just ten years away and means an uncertain future for younger Americans. These programs require bold decisions and innovative reforms that will guarantee their existence for rising generations of Americans. Foreign Policy: Every day the world is more unstable. The Middle East is in chaos with Israel under attack by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and radical Islamist extremists known as ISIS seeking to form a new country in which they will be able to operate freely. Syria continues disintegrating and Iran is only buying time in order to continue their nuclear program. Meanwhile Vladimir Putin is invading countries in Eastern Europe and was obviously involved in the downing of a commercial airliner, killing almost 300 innocent people. Putin is also rebuilding old Soviet-era alliances.	”
—Carlos Curbelo's campaign website, http://carloscurbelo.com/issues/

Joe Garcia

“	Justice Reform: In order for our community to move forward and make our communities more safe, we need a fair justice system that works for everyone. When someone pays the price for a non-violent crime they committed, we need to give them the opportunity to find a job and provide for themselves -- as opposed to remaining on government assistance or returning to crime. When we give people a path to rehabilitation, their lives improve and everyone becomes safer. Immigration Reform: Joe Garcia is a leader on immigration reform. He was the lead sponsor of the only bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill in Congress in the last 4 years, and as Congressman worked hard to stop deportations that broke up families in South Florida. More than 50% of our small businesses in South Florida are owned by immigrants. Passing comprehensive immigration reform means more people can start small businesses and grow our economy. When anti-immigrant Republicans blocked his bill, Joe worked closely with President Obama on Executive Actions to implement elements of his bill that would protect families from cruel deportations. In Congress, Joe will work to make the President’s actions permanent. Ending Gun Violence: In Congress, the special interest gun-lobby, the NRA awarded Joe Garcia a grade of “F”, and Joe could not have been prouder. Republicans in Congress today have done nothing to stop gun violence, and even refused to consider a law to prevent people on the suspected terrorist no-fly list from buying guns. Joe will fight to expand background checks, stop the sale of large capacity magazines, and bring sanity back to our gun laws. The Environment: Joe Garcia has always been a strident supporter of our natural treasures. He grew up fishing in Biscayne Bay and in Congress he worked to secure millions of dollars for Everglades restoration and for a vital Keys water quality project. Joe opposes offshore oil-drilling and fracking, and will fight to strengthen EPA laws that prevent environmental damage. Joe has been largely recognized as an environmental champion, receiving environmental endorsements from organizations like the League of Conservation voters for standing up for the environment in Congress. Respect in Politics: The Republican campaign for president this year has been marred by misogynist and racist comments. Our strength as a nation has always been our acceptance of other cultures, our tolerance for differing viewpoints, and our faith in the future. Joe Garcia will stand up to sexism and racism, and he will conduct a campaign that brings us together.	”
—Joe Garcia's campaign website, http://www.joegarciaforfl.com/issues

Redistricting

On July 9, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state's congressional district map was unconstitutional. The suit was brought to the court by the League of Women Voters and a coalition of other voter groups. David King, lead attorney for the League of Women Voters, said of the ruling, "This is a complete victory for the people of Florida who passed the Fair District amendment and sought fair representation where the Legislature didn't pick their voters. The Supreme Court accepted every challenge we made and ordered the Legislature to do it over."

As a result of the ruling, eight congressional districts were ordered to be redrawn: FL-05, FL-13, FL-14, FL-21, FL-22, FL-25, FL-26 and FL-27. However, the redrawing of these districts had an effect on most of the state's other congressional districts as well. The court gave the legislature until August 25, 2015, to complete the redrawn map.

The House and Senate could not reach an agreement on a new map in late August. Each chamber presented its own map, but they did not agree on which map to use. As a result, Judge Terry Lewis scheduled a trial in order to pick a map. The trial began on September 24, 2015, and lasted for three days. Following the trial, Judge Lewis recommended a map to the Florida Supreme Court, which had the ultimate decision as to which map to use.

On December 2, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the map that was recommended by the voters' coalition.

In total, 24 of Florida's 27 congressional districts saw some change with the new map. The most drastic changes were made to the 5th and 10th Congressional Districts. The new 5th and 10th are each composed of less than 40 percent of their old seats. The redrawn map is displayed below.

Campaign contributions

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

Carlos Curbelo

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

Joe Garcia

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Source: This graphic was generated using data from the FEC.

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The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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District history

2014

See also: Florida's 26th Congressional District elections, 2014

Florida's 26th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2014. Incumbent Joe Garcia faced no challenger in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, Carlos Curbelo defeated Ed MacDougall, Joe Martinez, Lorenzo Palomares Starbuck and former U.S. Rep. David Rivera. Curbelo then beat incumbent Garcia in the general election on November 4, 2014.

U.S. House, Florida District 26 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Carlos Curbelo	51.5%	83,031
	Democratic	Joe Garcia Incumbent	48.5%	78,306
Total Votes				161,337
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2012

See also: Florida's 26th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 26th district of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Democrat Joe Garcia won the election in the district.

U.S. House, Florida District 26 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joe Garcia	53.6%	135,694
	Republican	David Rivera Incumbent	43%	108,820
	Independent	Angel Fernandez	2.3%	5,726
	Independent	Jose Peixoto	1.1%	2,717
Total Votes				252,957
Source: Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Important dates and deadlines

See also: Florida elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Florida in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
January 11, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
February 10, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
March 10, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
March 15, 2016	Election date	Presidential primary election
April 4, 2016	Ballot access	Deadline for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections
April 11, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
May 2, 2016	Ballot access	Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates begins
May 6, 2016	Ballot access	Qualifying period for judicial, state attorney and public defender candidates ends
May 10, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
May 23, 2016	Ballot access	Deadline for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates qualifying by petition to submit completed petitions to supervisors of elections
June 10, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
June 20, 2016	Ballot access	Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates begins
June 24, 2016	Ballot access	Qualifying period for federal, state representative, state senate, county office and special district candidates ends
July 1, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
July 15, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
July 29, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
August 4, 2016	Campaign finance	Termination report due, if applicable
August 5, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
August 12, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
August 19, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
August 26, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
August 30, 2016	Election date	Primary election
September 9, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
September 22, 2016	Campaign finance	Termination report due, if applicable
September 23, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
October 7, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
October 14, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
October 21, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
October 28, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
November 4, 2016	Campaign finance	Campaign finance report due
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
November 28, 2016	Campaign finance	Termination report due, if applicable
February 6, 2017	Campaign finance	Termination report due, if applicable
Sources: Florida Division of Elections, "2015-2017 Election Dates Calendar," June 4, 2015 Florida Division of Elections, "Calendar of Reporting Dates for 2016 Candidates Registered with the Division of Elections," accessed January 11, 2016

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, 2016
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2016

Footnotes

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For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!

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Florida's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ashley Moody (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Jimmy Patronis (R)

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Randy Fine (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Mike Haridopolos (R)

District 9

Darren Soto (D)

District 10

Maxwell Frost (D)

District 11

Daniel Webster (R)

District 12

Gus Bilirakis (R)

District 13

Anna Luna (R)

District 14

Kathy Castor (D)

District 15

Laurel Lee (R)

District 16

Vern Buchanan (R)

District 17

Greg Steube (R)

District 18

Scott Franklin (R)

District 19

Byron Donalds (R)

District 20

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D)

District 21

Brian Mast (R)

District 22

Lois Frankel (D)

District 23

Jared Moskowitz (D)

District 24

Frederica Wilson (D)

District 25

Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)

District 26

Mario Diaz-Balart (R)

District 27

Maria Elvira Salazar (R)

District 28

Carlos Gimenez (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (8)