Washington (CNN) A freshman Florida congressman embroiled in ethics issues lost a Republican primary challenge on Tuesday, CNN projects, making him the eighth incumbent to lose a House primary this year. Rep. Ross Spano lost the GOP nomination to Scott Franklin, the Lakeland City Commissioner, who attacked Spano over an investigation into allegations of potential campaign finance violations in the race for central Florida's 15th congressional district. Spano said at the time, "we acknowledged that mistakes were made with respect to the campaign loans, but those mistakes were completely inadvertent and unintentional," adding, "We are confident that upon review, the Justice Department will see it that way, too." Franklin seized on the issue, with one campaign ad superimposing the word "CRIMINAL" in all capital letters over an image of Spano. Another ad says via voiceover, "Whether Spano is incompetent or corrupt, he shouldn't be your congressman."

Source: CNN August 19, 2020 03:00 UTC