Alan Cohn wins Democratic primary for US House District 15

UPDATE: Alan Cohn was declared the winner of Tuesday’s primary with 41% of the vote.

Original story below:

Three Democratic candidates will face off in Florida’s primary for the Congressional District 15 seat hoping for a coveted spot on the ballot in the November race.

LIVE RESULTS:

After a winning candidate is selected during the Aug. 18 election, they will extend their campaign to challenge the Republican nominee.

[2020 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know ahead of Florida’s primary election]

Florida’s 15th congressional district covers the northern parts of Polk and Hillsborough counties and the southernmost part of Lake. Republican U.S. Rep. Ross Spano currently holds the District 15 seat.

[READ MORE: Here are the Republican candidates running for U.S. House District 15]

Spano is running for re-election with Scott Franklin looking to nab the Republican party’s nomination. District 15 has had a Republican representative since 1995.

Here are the Democrats vying for the District 15 seat:

Alan Cohn

Cohn is a Peabody Award-winning television investigative journalist and is making another run for the District 15 seat. He says his experience holding government officials accountable and uncovering corruption inspired him to run for Congress. Cohn says investigative journalism was his way to make a positive impact on society and hopes to use his experience to fight for policy changes that working people need. As part of his platform, Cohn describes health care as a human right hoping to bring more affordable care to Americans and hopes to create effective policies to curb the climate crisis. Naturally, he wants to make sure big corporations aren’t benefiting from those struggling to make ends meet, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. The father of two graduated from Hofstra University and currently lives in New Tampa.

To learn more about Cohn’s platform, click here.

Adam Hattersley

Hattersley is currently a member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 59th District in Hillsborough County. He was the first Democrat to win in Florida’s 59th state house district since the seat was drawn in 2012. The engineer and small business owner says while serving in Tallahassee, he’s been able to help lower health care costs and prioritize public education, and hopes to continue to do so at the national level. Hattersley is also a veteran who served in Iraq as part of the U.S. Navy. According to his website, Hattersley consistently works to honor veterans and support them with resources even after their service, including improving their educational opportunities. Hattersley received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. In his platform, he’s outlined his priorities as protecting the environment, providing quality and affordable health care and supporting veterans.

To learn more about Hattersley, click here.

Jesse Philippe

Philippe has been described as the underdog of the District 15 race and is the youngest candidate campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Philippe joined the U.S. Marines at 19 and completed six years of service, including a tour in Iraq, according to his campaign website. The South Florida native says his time in the Marines inspired his passion for public service. The political newcomer earned his law degree from W.M. Cooley Law School but not with aspirations to become a lawyer. Instead, he hopes to use his knowledge of the law to help frame policies to better serve Americans. Among his platform priorities are community-based schools, which includes his push to raise teacher pay, loan forgiveness and properly funding public schools. Philippe says he prioritizes education and it should be a resource easily available to veterans. He is proposing amending GI bills to include full education tuition relief and create more transition programs for veterans. Philippe is also tackling the nationwide conversation surrounding immigration by providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, which would be contingent on receiving a high school diploma or creating a work-based pathway.

To learn more about Philippe’s platform, click here.

You can learn more about the primary and what races you can expect to see on your ballot with ClickOrlando.com’s complete 2020 voter guide.