Republican Curt Clawson has won the special election in southwest Florida on Tuesday to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, who resigned in January after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.
The businessman and former Purdue basketball star sailed past Democrat April Freeman and Libertarian Ray Netherwood in a solidly Republican district on the state’s Gulf Coast. According to early unofficial results, Clawson captured nearly 67 percent of the vote for District 19, which includes most of Lee County and about a third of Collier County.
Clawson will now serve the remainder of Radel’s term but must face voters again in November to win re-election.
In all, Clawson spent $3.65 million of his own money to win the congressional seat, shelling out most of that during the primary, according to campaign finance reports. Freeman, the Democratic nominee, spent roughly $107,000 on her campaign.