Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla. won the hotly contested race for the Republican nomination for Florida’s 21st Congressional District on Tuesday.
Mast now moves on to face Democrat Thomas Witkop, who ran unopposed in the Democrat primary, in November’s election.
Mast, who has been representing the district since 2017, faced a spirited challenge from Businessman Rick Wiles, a media entrepreneur with 25 years of podcasting and film-producing experience.
Mast has run since 2016 on "draining the swamp" in Washington, D.C., arguing that the Biden-Harris administration has sent money to foreign countries while ignoring everyday Americans.
"This place is a swamp. I also sit on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and daily I'm forced to watch the administration send dollars out the door to foreign countries in ways that in no way whatsoever benefit the American people," Mast said in an interview, according to WJNO.
Mast has also been a vocal advocate for term limits, saying in the interview that he is "fine" with being forced out of Congress himself to "reform the overall system."
For his part, Wiles vowed to serve a maximum of three terms if he were elected and also promised to cut funding to foreign wars.
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"I'm opposed to funding any foreign war. If I went to Congress, I would cut off money for all foreign wars. If another country wants to have a war, let them pay for it themselves, let their soldiers fight it. Don't get America involved in your fights," Mast said, according to WJNO.
Wiles made an issue of Mast’s support for Israel, including an incident in which Mast was pictured wearing an Israeli military uniform in Congress and admitting to traveling to the Jewish state to participate in Israel Defense Forces (IDF) activities.
"Brian Mast dishonored every member of the American Armed Forces and all our veterans by wearing an IDF uniform and volunteering to serve in Israel," Wiles said. "He particularly insulted my good friends in the USS Liberty Veterans Association who lost 34 shipmates during a surprise IDF attack in 1967."
Election experts such as the Cook Political Report, Decision Desk HQ and Sabato’s Crystal Ball all rate the 21st District as a safe Republican seat.
