David Shapiro Loses In Florida Swing District

By Dave Goldiner November 7, 2018

Democrat David Shapiro lost to a Republican incumbent on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Shapiro was trailing by 53-to-46% margin to Vern Buchanan, a six-term incumbent who had rarely faced serious challenges in the past.

Both Shapiro and Lauren Baer north of Palm Beach were given only an outside chance at winning and both races were rated Lean Republican by most analysts.

But the early results could help the GOP breathe easy that the vaunted #BlueWave may be just as powerful as it feared.

Shapiro was considered a long shot to take out Buchanan, who has rarely had a competitive race in his 12 years in office. Buchanan’s 16th District also covers a much more GOP-friendly swath of the Gulf Coast, although it includes liberal beach communities and the cities of Sarasota and Bradenton.

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Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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