Rep. Steube wins re-election to U.S. House of Representatives District 17 seat

Incumbent Rep. Greg Steube won the race for the U.S. House of Representatives District 17 seat Tuesday night, earning more than 63% of the votes over Democratic opponent Andrea Doria Kale.

Steube garnered 63.85% of the votes while Kale received about 35.51%. Independent candidate Theodore "Pink Tie" Murray received 0.64% of the votes.

As of noon Wednesday, 80 of the 82 precincts in Charlotte County had been reported and mail-in voting was still being shown as partially reported, according to the Charlotte County Supervisor of Election's website.

"What a night! I'm honored that the voters in Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee (counties) reelected me to the U.S. House, and I'm looking forward to representing new voters in northern Sarasota County," Steube said in a statement to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

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"Floridians know I'll always fight for our America First values in Washington. They can count on me to defend our freedoms and liberties every step of the way. May God continue to bless our great nation!"

Steube was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 following eight years in the Florida Legislature. This will be Steube’s third two-year term in the House of Representatives representing District 17, which currently covers Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties.

The incumbent congressman and sitting member of the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees took an early lead in the race.

The unofficial voter turnout as of Wednesday morning was about 62% in Sarasota County, 60.68% in Charlotte County, and 53.33% in Lee County, according to the supervisor of elections websites for all three counties.

Steube ran on a campaign focused on continuing the work he has done thus far while as a congressman, with a focus on border security and immigration, expanding resources for veterans and decreasing inflation.

Steube said if re-elected, he would continue to support District 17, much of which was impacted by Hurricane Ian. Following the storm, Steube previously told the Herald-Tribune he suspended his campaign to focus on helping his constituents during the recovery process.

Two days prior to Election Day, Steube’s office released a news release announcing the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved Sarasota County’s request for debris removal from six mobile home parks including Alameda Isles Mobile Home Park and La Casa Mobile Home Park.

As of Monday, Steube’s campaign received a total of $1.56 million in monetary contributions.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Election results for U.S. House of Representatives District 17 race