One of the three congressional districts serving the western communities promises to be among the most-watched U.S. House of Representatives contests in the nation this fall.
Florida’s 18th Congressional District, which includes parts of Royal Palm Beach and all of The Acreage, as well as much of northern Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, is shaping up to be a high-interest match-up as first-term Republican Rep. Brian Mast seeks to secure a second term in a seat that until 2016 was represented by a Democrat.
Until 2016, it was the seat of Democrat Patrick Murphy, who did not seek re-election in order to wage an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. Mast took the seat, garnering 53.6 percent of the vote. He has been in the news recently when it was rumored he was under consideration for a position in the Trump administration as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
“It is an honor to receive the recognition [of being considered] for the great work we have done for veterans,” said Mast, a highly decorated military veteran who lost his legs while deployed in Afghanistan.
Five candidates qualified to run for the seat: three Republicans and two Democrats.
Mast, who qualified by petition, faces primary challenges from fellow Republicans Dave Cummings and Dr. Mark Freeman, who paid the filing fee. Freeman lost to Mast in a six-way primary battle in 2016.
The Democratic primary features Lauren Baer, who qualified by petition, and Pam Keith, who paid the filing fee.
Mast’s top priorities are water issues, efforts to stop the Brightline high-speed rail, beach re-nourishment, rebuilding and reforming the military and helping veterans. He said that no issue is more important than making progress on water issues: rehabilitating the Lake
