Florida Congressional Primary Results: Hunter, Buck, Shapiro Win

Florida's 12th congressional district has been ruled by one Republican family for 36 years. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican from Palm Harbor, succeeded his father, Michael, in 2007. A trio of men were vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge Gus Bilirakis in November.

Chris Hunter, a senior prosecutor in the fraud section of the Department of Justice in Tampa, has been declared the winner in the Democratic primary in unofficial returns. He was challenged by Tarpon Springs tax consultant Stephen Perenich and Clearwater criminal defense attorney Robert Tager.

With all 178 precincts reporting, here are unofficial results in the Democratic primary:

Hunter: 65.3%

Perenich: 19.1%

Tager: 15.6%

In 2016, President Trump won the district by about 19 percentage points, but Democrats have targeted District 12 as a seat that could flip to their side of the aisle. To win back control of the House, Democrats would have to win 24 seats in November. Bilirakis did not have an opponent in the GOP primary.

RELATED STORY: Florida Primary Election Results: DeSantis, Gillum Win

District 12 is one of four congressional primary battles in the Tampa Bay area. Here are unofficial results with the winners' names in bold.

District 13 (Republican Primary - all 239 precincts reporting)

Buck: 56%

Sostack: 44%

District 16 (Democratic Primary -- with all 186 precincts reporting)

Shapiro: 54.8.%

Schneider: 45.2%

The winner in District 13 will face incumbent Charlie Crist, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Kathy Castor was not challenged in District 14. In Sarasota-based District 16, incumbent Vern Buchanan ran unopposed in the GOP primary.

For results in the race for District 15, click here.

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