Adam Christensen, 26, won the Democrat nomination for Florida’s 3rd Congressional District following the primary election. Kat Cammack took the Republican nomination. Both candidates will now go head-to-head at the general election on Nov 3.
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In a very close race, Christensen won with 34.49 percent of voters, against Tom Wells with 33.22 percent and Philip Dodds with 32.3 percent of the district’s Democratic turnout.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Christensen's total campaign contributions are $31,240.74, with $15,935.64 on hand, and Cammack’s show $492,374.96, with $98,046.98 on hand, as of July 29.
“I'm feeling damn good right now!” Christensen screamed once he won the Democratic nomination in the primary election.
Christensen did not win the Democratic nomination in Alachua County, but did win in all of District 3, which includes Clay, Bradford, Union, Alachua, Putnam and part of Marion County. This has not happened in Alachua County for over 20 years, according to the Alachua Supervisor of Elections website.
“We are the youngest Democratic nominee for Congress in the country, maybe ever,” Christensen said. “On top of that, we ran an entirely youth-led campaign with everyone under the age of 23.”
The candidate for Congress said he and his team won despite having run a campaign for seven months only. He mentioned that they drove 1500 miles in the last two days to put up signs in every precinct location.
Christensen said he was “freaking out the entire time” while waiting for results to come out. He knew he did not have the same recognition or experience running as the other candidates did, he said.
However, Christensen said he expected he was going to do better in Putnam, Union and Bradford counties. He also did not expect the race to be as close as it was.
Christensen said he is not going to let Kat Cammack win the general election. If elected to office, his team will represent the 3rd Congressional District very differently than Rep. Ted Yoho, he added.
“We are done with the way that things have been for eight years and longer. We are done with the power players being her people. It's time that we change the entire system. It's over. And so that is what we're focusing on. That is the goal. That's what we're doing,” Christensen said.
Christensen said that his campaign is “people-powered,” which he considers a strength. He put a plan in motion and followed through with his volunteers’ help and support, he said.
When talking about his “people-powered” campaign, Christensen said, “that's what we've said since the beginning. That's what it was. That's why we won. That's it.”
Competing against nine other Republicans, Cammack won the race with 25.23 percent of the district’s Republican turnout.
Cammack was congratulated for her win at about 8 p.m. on twitter by the Florida GOP and the Protect Freedom PAC, among others. She announced her victory on a Facebook livestream shortly after 8 p.m., and the Associated Press announced her Republican nomination at 9:06 p.m.
“We are going to go toe-to-toe with AOC,” Cammack said on her Facebook livestream.
Towards the end of her speech, Cammack sent a message to President Donald Trump: “You have reinforcements on the way, sir,” she said.
Cammack said her team has to stay focused during the next three months to continue their campaign and get conservatives out to vote.
“Tonight, we party. And then tomorrow, we get back to work,” Cammack said at the end of her livestream.
Despite multiple attempts to contact the Republican congressional nominee, Kat Cammack, she did not respond in time for publication.
The winner in the November general election will replace the Republican Rep. Ted Yoho and represent Florida's 3rd Congressional District, which includes the counties of Clay, Bradford, Union, Alachua, Putnam and part of Marion County.
Aurora Martínez is a journalism senior and the digital managing editor for The Alligator. When life gives her a break, she loves doing jigsaw puzzles, reading Modern Love stories and spending quality time with friends.
