State Rep. Margaret Good, D-Sarasota, has set her sights on Washington and seven-term Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan rather than a second full term in the Florida House.
Good announced Monday that she will run against Buchanan next year in Congressional District 16.
“To get the results we need, we must change the kind of people we send to Washington,” Good said in a prepared statement. “We need a representative who will listen to people, work hard, and do the right thing, even when it means working with those you don’t always agree with or standing up to your own party.”
Good, an attorney, became a party star in 2018 when she won a high-profile and expensive special election in state House District 72, defeating James Buchanan, the congressman’s son. She then held the seat in November, defeating former state Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, by capturing 50.7 percent of the vote.
Registered Republicans make up 42 percent of the legislative district, while Democrats make up 37 percent.
Good’s entry into the congressional race should attract attention and money to Congressional District 16, which is 41 percent Republican and 32 percent Democrat. The district covers western Manatee County and Sarasota County.
Buchanan retained the seat by winning 60 percent of the vote in 2016 and 54.6 percent in 2018.
The political committee Vern Buchanan for Congress had $517,066 on hand as of June 30, according to the Federal Elections Commission.
Meanwhile, two Republicans, Donna Barcomb and Fiona McFarland, had already opened campaign accounts to challenge Good next year in the state House district. James Buchanan won another Sarasota County state House seat in November.
