Florida's 15th District of the United States House of Representatives is currently based in the state's central region. Most recently, it's been represented by Republican Ross Spano.

Spano was elected to the seat in 2018. The incumbent Republican Dennis Ross had decided not to run for re-election. Spano would successfully prevail in both the Republican primary and the general election. In 2020, however, it's a very different story.

Loses bid for re-election in the Republican primary

Ross Spano has lost his attempt at a second term. He was defeated before he even got back to the general election.

Spano was stopped short in Florida's Republican primary election. As reported by Politico, Spano is one of several U.S. House incumbents to be knocked out in the primary. Both Republicans and Democrats alike.

For some time, Spano has been the focus of an ethics investigation, as noted by CNN. He'd been looked by the Justice Department and by the House Ethics Committee. The possible charges stem from his 2018 Congressional campaign. Some campaign contributions were in excess of what's allowed by the federal government. Something which is a problem by itself. But questions linger on whether the excess money was meant as an improper loan for Spano.

The ethics issues would become a focal point in the 2020 Republican primary for Spano's seat.

Spano tried to use his staunch support for Donald Trump to gain support. It's unclear how well that would or wouldn't have worked in the general election. But what does seem clear is that it wasn't successful in the Republican primary.

Spano is a graduate of the University of South Florida and the Florida State University College of Law.

He'd become a practicing lawyer and a partner in his own law firm. In 2012, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from the 59th District. Spano defeated fellow State Representative Neil Combee among others in the 2018 Republican primary for the U.S. House seat.

Scott Franklin wins the Republican nomination

The new Republican nominee for Florida's 15th U.S.

House District is Scott Franklin. Franklin is the city commissioner and mayor pro tem of Lakeland, Florida. He's also a former U.S. Navy officer. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and became an aviator. Franklin is a veteran of the Gulf War, the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War.

Alan Cohn has won the Democratic nomination for the seat. Cohn has been a long-time investigative journalist. He's received two Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for his work. Cohn was previously the Democratic nominee for the seat in 2014. He would lose to Dennis Ross by a wide margin.
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