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Lawsuit wants DeSantis to set a US House special election

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Posted at 4:23 PM, May 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-02 16:23:58-04

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A candidate for the U.S. House seat left vacant by the death of longtime Rep. Alcee Hastings has filed a lawsuit seeking to force Gov. Ron DeSantis to schedule a special election. Hastings died April 6 after decades in the House.

Now, there are numerous candidates vying for the job in an overwhelmingly Democratic district, but there’s one problem: no special election date has been set by the Republican governor.

One of those candidates for the District 20 seat is Elvin Dowling, who has filed a federal lawsuit seeking for force DeSantis to schedule the election. Dowling claimed the governor’s plan is to “obfuscate, delay and deny." The governor’s office did not respond Sunday to an email seeking comment.