© Provided by The Canadian PressTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Health care CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was elected to fill the seat of late Democratic Florida U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings on Tuesday, boosting the Democrats’ slim majority in the House. Hastings was the longest-serving member of the Florida delegation before he died in April of pancreatic cancer. Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nearly 5-1 ratio in the district, which includes parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties. Reclaiming Hastings’ seat will increase the Democrats’ slender House majority to 222-212, leaving room for no more than four Democratic defections as Speaker Nancy Pelosi tries moving her party’s bills through the House. She will have to immediately defend the seat in an August primary and, if she wins, the November general election.

Source: CBC News January 12, 2022 04:25 UTC