Alan Cohn wins Democratic primary for Florida House District 15

Alan Cohn won a five-way race to become the Democratic Party's nominee for Florida's newly drawn15th Congressional District.

Cohn, a journalist, took 33.1% of the vote Tuesday, according to Florida Department of Elections. Political consultant Gavin Brown had 22.3%, video producer Eddie Geller 21.9%, financial banker Cesar Ramirez 17.4% and William VanHorn 5.4%

The Democratic candidate moves on the November general election, where he faces Laurel Lee, a former prosecutor and judge who served as Gov. Ron DeSantis' secretary of state. Lee won the GOP nomination with 41.5% of the votes.

The winner will represent constituents of Congressional District 15, carved from portions of Polk, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. The district's boundaries stretch from South Florida Avenue in Lakeland west to the Suncoast Parkway near Lutz, and from north of Zephyrhills south to State Road 60. It includes portions of Kathleen, Southwest Lakeland, Dover, Lutz, Plant City, Temple Terrace, Thonotosassa and Zephyrhills.

Republicans in District 15: Laurel Lee beats Kelli Stargel, 3 others to become Republican nominee for Florida's new CD 15

More results: Live election-night results for other Polk County races

This will be Cohn's second campaign aimed at becoming the Congressional representative for Florida's House District 15. He previously ran for the seat in 2020 and lost to Republican Scott Franklin, who is running in District 18 after redistricting.

Cohn, 59, is a resident of New Tampa in Hillsborough County. His professional experience is working as an investigative journalist for ABC Action News in Tampa. Cohn's work has included discovering a former Hillsborough commissioner who accepted money to buy a vacation home in Arkansas and uncovering defective parts were being installed in Black Hawk helicopters.

If elected, Cohn said he plans to work on bipartisan measures to lower taxes and take on large pharmaceutical corporations' pricing of life-saving medications. He's in favor of a high-speed rail rom Tampa to Orlando, such as Brightline, to improve public transportation.

Cohn has raised approximately $178,000 to date in his campaign for office, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings. This put him second in funds raised by his party's candidates, behind Eddie Geller, who raised more than $500,000.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida U.S. House District 15: Alan Cohn wins Democratic primary