With a new primary challenger jumping in the race, last week, U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, R-Fla., showcased his efforts to help return money to constituents.
Webster announced that, so far in 2021, his office has helped return $2 million “to constituents in 2021 in compensation, pension, or retroactive payments from agencies including the VA, IRS, and Social Security” and $15.5 million since the start of 2017.
“Today, my office marked getting $2 million returned to constituents in my district over the last 8 months,” said Webster. “I am pleased that we have been able to intercede on behalf of so many constituents to ensure they receive the services and compensation they have earned. If you need assistance navigating federal bureaucracy, please contact my office. My staff and I are here to serve you.
“I am also committed to continuing to work to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of our federal agencies,” Webster added.
Now 72, Webster has had something of a dramatic ride during his time in Congress. While he crushed then-U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., in 2010, Webster had a tough time beating Democrat Val Demings in 2012 after redistricting. After another round of redistricting, Webster set his sights away from I-4 to a GOP-leaning district to the north.
Before serving in Congress, Webster put in decades of service in the Florida Legislature. First elected to the Legislature in 1980, Webster was the first Republican to lead the Florida House since Reconstruction and served as majority leader in the state Senate. However, Webster flopped in some of his efforts for higher office, including failing to become state Senate president and in a U.S. Senate bid back in the 2004 election cycle. After the 2014 election, Webster offered a leadership challenge to U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, but came up short and was thrown off of the powerful U.S. House Rules Committee. After Boehner stepped down in 2015, Webster made another attempt to grab the gavel but lost out to then U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc.
In the meantime, Webster has a new opponent as conservative writer Laura Loomer jumped in the Republican primary joining Gavriel Soriano in challenging the congressman. In 2020, Loomer ran for the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., in South Florida, winning the nod with 42.5 percent. Frankel beat her in November 59 percent to 39 percent. Earlier in the year, Loomer opted to seek a rematch with Frankel.
Webster is also being challenged by two candidates–Jonathan Puzio and former Mascotte Mayor Tony Rosado– running with no party affiliation.
