Tea Party-backed candidate wins Florida special election to replace ex-Rep. Radel

MIAMI – In a victory for the Tea Party movement, Republican Curt Clawson won a special election in southwest Florida on Tuesday to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, who resigned in January after pleading guilty to cocaine possession.

The businessman and former Purdue basketball star cruised past Democrat April Freeman and Libertarian Ray Netherwood in a solidly Republican district on the state's Gulf Coast. According to early unofficial results, Clawson captured 66 percent of the vote for District 19, which includes most of Lee County and about a third of Collier County.

On Nov. 20, Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and was sentenced to a year of probation. He admitted to buying cocaine from an undercover officer Oct. 29 in Washington. Radel, a onetime tea party favorite, resigned in January.

Clawson will now serve the remainder of Radel's term but must face voters again in November to win re-election.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/24/tea-party-backed-candidate-wins-florida-special-election-to-replace-ex-rep/