Only 2 Out of 14 Orlando-Area Republican Congressional Candidates Willing to Say Biden ‘Legitimately’ Won Election

Sarah RumpfJul 29th, 2022, 1:46 pm
 
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - JULY 09: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a "Save America" rally at Alaska Airlines Center on July 09, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. Former President Donald Trump held a "Save America" rally in Anchorage where he campaigned with U.S. House candidate former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has been slipping in some recent polls testing Republican primary voters’ preferences for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, but that doesn’t mean that his influence has totally waned. This was patently obvious at a multi-district congressional candidate forum held Thursday evening in Orlando, where 12 of the 14 Republican candidates present refused to agree that President Joe Biden “legitimately” won the 2020 election.

The forum was sponsored by the Orlando Sentinel, AARP, and Spectrum News 13 and invited both Republican and Democratic candidates from Florida’s seventh, ninth, and tenth congressional districts.

Longtime Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell and News 13 anchor Ybeth Bruzal moderated the discussion, and one question that generated buzz on social media was asking the Republican contenders if they believed that Biden was “legitimately” elected president, in the form of a yes or no question.

According to the above tweet from Maxwell and reporting by the Sentinel and Florida Politics, only two of the Republicans were willing to publicly admit Biden won: Ted Edwards, a former Orange County commissioner, and Rusty Roberts, who previously served as chief-of-staff to former Rep. John Mica (R-FL), the congressman who represented Florida’s seventh congressional district for over two decades until his 2016 loss to current Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL).

Florida Politics reporter Scott Powers reported on the forum and listed the candidates refusing to admit Biden won:

Those who said no were Republican CD 7 candidates Erica Benfield, Al Santos and Scott Sturgill; Republican CD 9 candidates Jose Castillo, Scotty Moore, Adianis Morales and Sergio Ortiz; and Republican CD 10 candidates Lateresa Jones, Tuan Le, Thuy Lowe, Peter Weed and Calvin Wimbish.

So did independent CD 10 candidate Usha Jain.

Both the 7th and 10th districts are open seats this year. Murphy declined to run for re-election and Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), the former sheriff elected in 2016 in the neighboring tenth district, is challenging Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for the state’s senate seat. Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL), representing the 9th district, is defending his seat against whoever wins the Republican primary.

Several candidates did not attend, including one of the top Republican competitors in district 7, former State Rep. Anthony Sabatini. Sabatini has frequently posted tweets using an #AmericaFirst hashtag and criticizes his fellow Republicans for being insufficiently MAGA. He has appeared on former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast and posted a tweet supporting him after his recent conviction and touts endorsements from some of the staunchest Trump allies in Congress — many of whom have also denied Biden legitimately won the election.

The Sentinel noted that in past interviews, “Sabatini said he thinks the 2020 election is ‘tainted,’ but he recognizes Biden was sworn in as president.”

Florida’s primary election will be held on Aug. 23, 2022, with the mandatory statewide early voting period from Aug. 13-20 and county supervisor of elections permitted to hold additional early voting days on Aug. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 21.

This article has been updated with additional information about Sabatini’s past comments about the 2020 election. 

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.