Florida's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

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Florida's 7th Congressional District

General Election Date November 8, 2016

Primary Date August 30, 2016

November 8 Election Winner: Stephanie Murphy

Incumbent prior to election: John Mica

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

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2016 U.S. Senate Elections

The 7th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.

Florida's 7th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Incumbent John Mica (R) sought re-election in 2016. He was defeated by Stephanie Murphy (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Mica defeated Mark Busch in the Republican primary on August 30, 2016.

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 John Mica (R), who was first elected in 1992.

Florida's 7th Congressional District is located in eastern Florida and includes parts of Seminole, Orange and Volusia counties.

Note: The district description is up to date as of redistricting following the 2010 census. The description will be updated with the new boundaries once the census data is updated.

Election results

General election

U.S. House, Florida District 7 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Stephanie Murphy	51.5%	182,039
	Republican	John Mica Incumbent	48.5%	171,583
	N/A	Write-in	0%	33
Total Votes				353,655
Source: Florida Division of Elections

Primary election

U.S. House, Florida District 7 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
John Mica Incumbent	77.2%	38,528
Mark Busch	22.8%	11,407
Total Votes		49,935
Source: Florida Division of Elections

Candidates

General election candidates:

John Mica
Stephanie Murphy a
Mike Plaskon (Write-in)

Primary candidates:

Democratic

Stephanie Murphy a

Republican

John Mica - Incumbent a
Mark Busch

Third Party/Other

Mike Plaskon (Write-in)

Withdrew:
Bill Phillips (D)
John Morning (R)

Endorsements

Stephanie Murphy

• EMILY's List

Polls

Florida's 7th District - John Mica vs. Stephanie Murphy
Poll	John Mica	Stephanie Murphy	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Global Strategy Group/DCCC October 13-15, 2016	45%	48%	+/-4.9	400
DCCC October 10, 2016	43%	45%	+/-4.4	499
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 [email protected]

Media

John Mica

"Working for our Veterans" - Mica's first ad, released October 2016

Stephanie Murphy

"It's Time to Fix Washington" - Murphy's first ad, released September 2016

"It's Time to Change Washington" - Murphy campaign ad, released October 2016

Campaign themes

John Mica

“	Cutting Waste, Fraud, & Abuse: The General Services Administration (GSA) that oversees most federal buildings and properties (not postal or military) has been under investigation by Congressman Mica. That investigation revealed the GSA funded outrageous Las Vegas Convention expenditures and a variety of other questionable spending. Jobs & Economic Opportunity: As I get back to the district and talk to folks, I hear from those that have lost their job and people who now have lower incomes and lower expectations for their children’s future. This greatly concerns me. I have listened to the President, along with my constituents and others, and while the President has some ideas that merit consideration, our biggest point of difference is that just implementing bigger government programs and more spending are not going to get America out of a depressed economy. Energy Independence: I share the concerns that many constituents have raised about the current cost of energy. This is an issue for all Americans and our nation. Fair Tax: I believe our current system of taxation has grown into a confusing, unfair and burdensome system. That does not even take into consideration the mounting cost to run a huge IRS bureaucracy or the cost of an army of CPAs and accountants to prepare the mountains of forms required by current tax law. I believe that there must be a better way. Seniors: Please know that I am committed to our seniors and to those who rely on Medicare and Medicaid.	”
—John Mica's campaign website, http://www.micaforcongress.com/issues/

Stephanie Murphy

“	Economy & Jobs: Stephanie Murphy is not a politician. She is a successful businesswoman with the real-world experience we need in Congress. As an executive at a business advisory firm, she advises small and large companies on growth. She is also a successful innovator and entrepreneur herself, holding a patent for a sports clothing design. Education: As someone whose family immigrated to this country when she was only one year old, public education was the reason Stephanie was able to succeed. Her parents worked blue collar jobs during the day and cleaned office buildings at night so their children could have a better life. As a result, Stephanie and her brother are the first generation in their family to graduate from college, which they afforded through scholarships, Pell Grants and student loans. Environment: When Stephanie is elected, she will be a strong advocate for our environment, for clean air and water, and for smart investments in green energy that both reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and make energy more affordable for Florida families. Good Government: Stephanie is running for Congress because she is frustrated by the gridlock and dysfunction in Washington. Our elected representatives aren’t getting anything done for the American people because of petty politics. In fact, they’re often times just making things worse. Health Care: Health care costs continue to be one of the biggest burdens on families and seniors in central Florida, which is why one of Stephanie’s top priorities will be to help bring down the costs of health care for families, seniors and businesses.	”
—Stephanie Murphy's campaign website

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.

John Mica

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

Stephanie Murphy

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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 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent John Mica (R) defeated Wesley Neuman (D) and Al Krulick (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Florida District 7 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Mica Incumbent	63.6%	144,474
	Democratic	Wesley Neuman	32.1%	73,011
	Independent	Al Krulick	4.3%	9,679
Total Votes				227,164
Source: Florida Division of Elections

2012

See also: Florida's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 7th District of Florida held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent John L. Mica won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Florida District 7 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John L. Mica Incumbent	58.7%	185,518
	Democratic	Jason Kendall	41.3%	130,479
	Independent	Fred Marra	0%	13
Total Votes				316,010
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

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

Marco Rubio (R)

Rick Scott (R)

Representatives

District 1

Vacant

District 2

Neal Dunn (R)

District 3

Kat Cammack (R)

District 4

Aaron Bean (R)

District 5

John Rutherford (R)

District 6

Michael Waltz (R)

District 7

Cory Mills (R)

District 8

Bill Posey (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 (21)

Democratic Party (8)

Vacancies (1)